The Shadow Of Your Heart
by ohgeekyone
Summary: His last request to her before he met the sun was simple: Find Eric. The complex part was losing him. Eric/OC
1. I Must Become The Lion Hearted Girl

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**A/N - Please note that the timing in this story will not be in canon. I will happily move scenes around to fit my story but I will do my best to make it believable. For the time being, the only major thing I'm changing is the maenad storyline from Season 2. Please place that entire plotline AFTER the Dallas one. At the beginning of this story, Sookie has not been attacked, Tara has not been manipulated and Sam is still the kindly and calm bartender we all love. Mary-Ann has not been introduced. For now. The reason for Sookie going to Dallas was to release Lafayette (like in the show), only she didn't find him when she'd been attacked; she heard his thoughts when Bill took her there to take care of business. I hope this isn't too confusing for anyone. **

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The Audi rolled into the parking lot of the bar smoothly. She'd expected it to be quite busy, as she'd heard it was doing incredibly well and was attracting customers in their hundreds. However, her suspicions were incorrect and there were not many vehicles present, only a few beat up Fords and a Mustang or two. It was eerily empty, which was quite usual for a Tuesday evening at only 8PM. She switched off the engine, and reveled in the newfound silence that accompanied her action. She could hear her steady breathing echo around her and the soothing noise the crickets made outside. It was a resounding contrast to her raging internal battle.

Sarah looked around. To her left was the entrance to the bar: a normal door opening with a long red cover outside, presumably to stop customers getting wet should it rain. To her, it seemed tacky almost, as she imagined everything about this bar would be. To it's left was a neon sign of the name of the bar, although it need not be there, she thought, as most people in the surrounding area had heard of "the first vampire-friendly bar in Louisiana". She, however, had heard of it from a different source, as her hometown was Dallas, Texas.

She despised the fact that she was here. She hated to be dependant on someone, especially a stranger. She prided herself on being her own woman, a fierce being who was the best at what she did, so running to someone for help went against her very nature. The only thing keeping her here was Godric (and self-preservation, but she didn't like to acknowledge that). If he hadn't wanted this, she wouldn't be here at all. She'd have been tucked away in her small apartment back in Dallas, mourning and working.

Although her breathing remained slow and steady as she thought of her now deceased best friend, her eyes welled up and her hands began to shake on the steering wheel. It had been four months since Godric had met the sun on the roof of Hotel Carmilla, yet Sarah was still torn up about it. She always wondered if there was something she could've done to prevent the almost biblical tragedy. If she'd been around more to help him cope with the ongoing vampire-human relations, if she'd been there to comfort him when Victoria, a member of his nest, met her true death at the hands of extremists - if, if, if. Guilt gnawed away at her like a maggots in an apple because the truth was she hadn't made much of an effort at all. She'd been far too focused on herself and her future, like always. Sarah believed that everyone was innately selfish, but she felt her own actions crossed the metaphorical line.

Hence why she was sitting in her car outside a vampire bar in Shreveport. She was doing what Godric wanted.

She took a deep breath and exited her car, shoving the keys in her jeans pocket when it was locked. The air was warm and the heat pressed down on her which only exacerbated her tension. A few people were stood outside smoking and what not and Sarah assumed they were not queuing and bypassed them to the door. A woman stood just inside the threshold and she asked for ID. Sarah almost laughed, what with her being 25, but showed the lady her ID nonetheless. Sarah knew the woman to be Pam, Godric's grandchild for all intents and purposes. Her big blonde hair gave her away, as did her ever-present smirk. Sarah reluctantly felt somewhat intimidated by this woman, although she would never show it or admit it. Pam possessed a natural elegance and calm that Sarah had to work at, as she was renowned for being hot-headed. In her industry, however, it would not do to be confrontational or reckless, so she constantly had to strive to keep her temper under wraps.

Pam handed back the woman's ID, not really paying much attention to the little tanned girl whose heart was hammering at a mile a minute. She was far more focused on her master who was currently sat in his office. He wasn't doing paperwork like he'd told her as she heard no rustling, but rather he was just sat there in his leather chair, thinking. Pam sighed to herself. He was likely to be thinking about the telepath, a meek blonde who'd caught his eye. Pam knew her maker like no one else did, so she knew that the only reason he was interested was because he couldn't have her. Compton had made that quite clear. Obviously Pam found the girl attractive - who didn't? - but she felt that the Stackhouse girl was not worth the trouble her maker was exerting in winning her over. After all, he could have anyone he wanted - one weedy little telepathic blonde girl was nothing. Well…at least she thought it was nothing. Her attentions to her maker were divided when a busty brunette slid up to her, offering her neck. Since drinking was not allowed on the premises, she glamoured the girl into waiting for her after hours. Pam, pleased with her catch, resumed her mundane task of asking the customers for their ID.

Sarah walked past the blonde and round the corner to come face to face with the main section of the bar. The walls were painted a deep red, almost burgundy, and pictures hung from the walls showing vampire culture (mainly fictional). She saw one picture was of the 20's film "The Blonde Vampire," which she thought was probably referencing the vampire who owned Fangtasia and/or his progeny. She found it cocky and was yet another reason she wanted to turn around and drive as fast as possible back to Dallas. Yet she couldn't. She couldn't go back. She'd wreaked enough havoc on Godric's - now Isabel's - nest and she couldn't bear to be around people who didn't know Godric as she thought she did. There was only one person who did and that was one of two reasons why she was here.

She sighed as she looked around the bar. It had an adequate amount of people present - some human, some vampire - which didn't really match with the number of cars outside, but Sarah didn't ponder this for too long. Those surrounding the door looked at her as she walked in, silently questioning her choice of attire. She'd come straight from work, meaning she was still wearing a crisp white shirt, grey flared trousers and a grey blazer to match. Others present at the bar were wearing leather, black, PVC, more black and other outfits that Sarah thought looked like costumes. She looked around the place, searching for a "EMPLOYEES ONLY" door. She knew that was where he'd be. When she saw the sign at the opposite end of club, past a podium of sorts, she confidently walked straight past the bar and the stage and up the door. It was littered in cut outs from magazines and pictures, making it look almost like graffiti. She stood outside it for all of two seconds and then knocked twice - hard and purposefully.

She remained perfectly still as she waited for an invitation, and when it came in the form of a simple and sharp, "What?" she turned the doorknob without hesitation.

The office wasn't ostentatious, she noted to her pleasure. It was invariably simple, with a desk that looked messy, a bookcase behind it which held many books ranging from different eras. She tried to sneak a glimpse at them around his body, but he mainly blocked them, and she found he had a very demanding presence. You had to look at him. In the leather desk-chair was Godric's favorite child - Eric Northman. She'd seen pictures of him from Godric and heard may descriptions of the Viking vampire, but she felt like they all missed something out. Stood before him, she felt as though she was in the presence of Godric, yet she knew that he was nearly the complete opposite to him. Godric had told her many stories of the mischief the two got up to centuries ago, and the trouble it usually landed them in. Godric had evolved and had tuned into his humanity whereas Eric had not. He was the kind of person Sarah didn't have patience for: a vampire who thought they were invincible. Stan, a Texan vampire who resided in Godric's nest, was like this also. And she hated Stan.

Eric was busy. He needed to plan a strategy for conquering Sookie Stackhouse. At more than one point tonight, he'd actually thought of simply eliminating Bill from the equation, to hell with the consequences. The rational part of his brain, the part that had kept him alive for well over 1000 years, however, presided over the small, diabolical side. He knew that would have a disastrous aftermath. A sharp knock invaded his thoughts and he almost growled at the door. Not bothering to check who it was, he barked a, "What?" He assumed it would be Pam or Ginger. If he'd been alert, he'd have recognized that Pam wouldn't have been stupid enough to interrupt him, and Ginger was in another office with a young vampire in the realms of pleasure. Therefore he was surprised and slightly angered when an average human strode in like she owned the place. In a move that the human would never have noticed, he gave her the once over. She was pretty, he thought, for a human, but he'd seen better. She wasn't gracefully tall or daintily short, but a normal medium. Her hair was brown, only a few shades darker than her tanned skin, and straight as it hung down her back. Buried beneath her suit, he could tell she was toned and athletic, and that she had been bitten by a vampire before. Her eyes, although her most striking feature, were the same color as his and he was therefore not taken aback or pleasantly surprised, but rather he felt bored. If he was going to be interrupted, he thought, at least he could have been interrupted by someone…blonde, brown-eyed and feisty with the intention of yielding.

He noticed the girl take a look around his office with a small smile on her face. When her eyes settled on him, he made a move for her, getting up in a flash and pinning her against the wall with a hand wrapped around her slender throat. He could still feel the heat of the sun on her, but above that he could feel her jugular vein throbbing in time with her heartbeat and it was enough to bring out his fangs in anticipation. How dare this human interrupt his thoughts? She was nothing.

He could tell the woman was frightened from the way her heart hammered even more violently in her chest, but her face only gave slight indication of it. Her eyes conveyed her terror, yet her face remained almost…impassive. It was strange, Eric thought, since he was very close to killing the intruder.

"Why are you here?" He demanded in an irate tone, causing the girl to blink twice quickly. Eric was used to people giving him what he wanted at the first time of asking, mainly because they knew better, so he was slightly shaken when this girl only stared at him in shock and said nothing. Slightly miffed, he tightened his grip, causing the girl to choke slightly and making her eyes bulge.

"Why?" His voice was now a growl - first she disturbed him, then she didn't seem too terrified, then she ignored him. He would regret her death, he thought, since he would have liked to have some fun with this one. She may not be the most beautiful of woman, but she was still a woman. A small part of his brain reminded him that killing customers was not the way to attract more, but he was too far gone now. His anger had run away with him. It was something he needed to work on, he knew, and he had mastered a calm stoic facial expression when in the presence of others. Now he just needed to apply it when someone bothered him. He leaned in towards her neck, positioning himself right where she would taste the nicest, when the girl said the one thing that could have stopped him.

"Godric."

Her voice was throaty, whether from him choking her or because her voice was just like that, yet her words were crystal clear.

Hundreds of memories crashed into his mind from the places he'd locked them away. Their first meeting, awaking with him underground, learning all there was to learn about the way of the vampire, the numerous times they'd joined together to further increase their bond…his face faltered, he knew, and he hated this blood bag for making him lose his control. Nobody made Eric Northman hesitate.

"How dare you speak his name?" he hissed at her, more angry at himself than at her. He tightened his grip even further, causing the girl to start flapping about, trying uselessly to get him off her. It was hopeless. He was stronger, faster, more intelligent…better than her in all ways.

"He-" she spluttered, no longer being able to retrieve any amount of oxygen from the strength of his mighty grip. "He sent me!" She somewhat shouted the words at him, using the last of her breath. They both knew that she would be dead within twenty seconds maximum.

"Godric is gone." Eric was furious now; he only saw darkness in his eyesight. Only pain. Only suffering. Only revenge. Not only had this girl interrupted him, but she dared to suggest that she knew his maker. Godric would never surround himself with such a boring, meek, insolent human as this. That she even dared to utter his name required her immediate death.

The girl's eyes darted around his face wildly, searching for something that was no longer inside him, before she croaked, only in the tiniest of voices, "My pocket. Look in my pocket and take your hands off me." She looked at her pants and pleaded him with her eyes.

Later, Eric would not be able to describe what happened next. He only knew that he needed to look in her pocket, as it held all the answers. Her pocket was the only thing that mattered. It was essential. Immediately, he let go of her neck as she'd told him to, causing Sarah to fall to the ground and gasp for breath, coughing and spluttering. He followed her down to the floor, fumbling into her pocket. His fingers found a folded up sheet of paper. From what he could tell, it had been folded and unfolded many a time, as the paper was crinkled. He also could smell the scent of tears emanating off the paper. He had to open it. Everything depended upon it.

Sarah couldn't believe she'd almost died - again. At the hands of her only hope, no less. It wasn't comforting at all, knowing that the person you needed - albeit reluctantly - wanted you dead. She grasped her neck as she swallowed air frantically, trying to save up incase it happened again. She watched as Eric read the sheet of paper ardently, as though it was his whole world. His fingers grasped it firmly, determined not to let it get away, yet they didn't hold it so tight they would damage it. His face was straight as he read the letter at vampire speed. As he reached the end, he let the sheet waft down to where she lay, sprawled out uncomfortably. As soon as it reached the floor, his eyes refocused on her, and the anger was back.

"What did you do, witch?" He growled, his fangs still out. It was intimidating, Sarah would freely admit, but she'd seen it before many a time. She kept her breathing constant and deep, trying to regulate her erratic heartbeat. It thudded inside her chest like a lion in a cage, ceaseless and strong. It made Eric's mouth water slightly, but he was far too angered to think straight.

"I'm not a witch," she breathed, still slightly shell-shocked that she'd been seconds away from death once again. It seemed that she was destined to die young with all the attempts that had been made on her life recently. Yet she knew that, if offered the chance, she would not undo any of it. Her time with Godric had been wonderful and she would not regret it.

"Oh, really?" he snarled sarcastically, reaching to grab her. She didn't flinch, despite the fact that she wanted to, as she knew he wouldn't be able to reach her. Sure enough, when his hand got within in a foot of her, it hit some form of invisible barrier. It wasn't like invisible glass, exactly, it was more of a feeling. As though he didn't want to touch her. She saw his face twist in confusion, to disbelief, and then revert back to the anger that she was sure was going to kill her.

The…"magic," or whatever the hell it was, would wear off soon and she knew he wouldn't waste time killing her. She needed to talk.

"I swear to you that I'm not a witch. I don't know what the hell I am, but I know that I'm not a witch. The reason why I know is that Godric told me I wasn't. He was adamant that I was not a witch. What I am is…persuasive." Her voice took on the bitter tone it usually did when discussing her freaky ability and Eric was somewhat surprised to hear just how bitter she really was.

His dead heart had constricted at the mention of his maker once more. His head filled with various ways to kill this girl, many of these fantasies including decapitation, but something about her made him stop. Besides, the "feeling" was still there and he couldn't reach her yet. He decided to let her continue instead of calling Pam to kill her for him.

"I'm sorry for intruding, but…" At this point she sighed, as though she hated admitting something to herself. "But you're my only chance of survival. I'm not the sort of person to ask anyone for help, but…I need you."

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**Thank you for reading.**


	2. Empty In The Valley Of Your Heart

Sarah was gulping down the water like a fish would after being exposed to oxygen for too long. Her throat was on fire, constricted in the worst sort of ways. It was dry, despite the water there. Her voice was even more throaty than usual as she thanked the waitress for the drink. The waitress, Ginger, smiled at her sympathetically; she knew that this tanned girl (that put the bleach blonde to shame) would not live long. Her Master was displeased with her, and those who displeased her Master always ended up…missing.

As Sarah slammed the glass down onto the desk, breathing heavily, she tried to entertain numerous ways in her mind as to how she could make this situation work. She knew that asking a manipulative and wise vampire to effectively 'guard' her would never be free. Everything had a price. She dreaded finding out what that price was.

Eric was glaring at the girl across the desk. Sarah felt his gaze on her, but did nothing to stop him or encourage him. She could tell he was still thinking of ways to kill her. She'd been more than surprised when he'd not tried to attack her after she'd given him a brief explanation. In fact, she'd even downright asked him why he hadn't, and he'd evasively replied, "You might have some use to me, yet," which made her, if possible, even more anxious. He'd then resorted to ignoring all her questions until she'd stopped asking them.

He'd 'allowed' her a glass of water - something she'd not seen the huge deal about - as he'd told her she would be talking a lot this night and he didn't want her voice to disappear half way through. She could see the logic, obviously, but she didn't like the thought of what would happen after she'd finished her story. Would he simply kill her and decide that would be the best for all parties involved? She simply hoped that his love for Godric would be paramount to his temporary discomfort.

"Talk," Eric ordered her, his patience non-existent. He'd called Pam into the room so someone else was witness to the story, and so he didn't have to repeat the conversation to Pam later that night. He had a feeling he would not be in the mood. His progeny stood behind him as he sat on his large chair on high alert. He was trying to find a way to ensure that this girl's "persuasion" didn't affect him again. It made him susceptible. It made him weak, and that was the worst form of punishment he could think of.

This girl's witchcraft was also another reason he'd brought Pam into the room. He'd told her in no uncertain terms that if he appeared to act out of the ordinary to attack the girl and kill her. Pam was more than willing to see this done.

Sarah shifted uncomfortably. She kept her eyes focused on the wood of the desk, watching the way the colors changed every so often, swirling and morphing into darker shades, different patterns. It was so soothing, she thought, that it almost made her forget where she was. When Eric snapped, "Now," at her, however, she was brought back to reality.

And so she began to talk, feeling like she was at therapy. "As I said before, I'm not a witch. Witches thrive on the world's magic, the Earth's natural power. I have never, in all my life, felt any sort of connection to nature. I'm just…an oddity, I suppose. Godric saw me one night on an empty street. Some guy had planned on taking my purse, which I couldn't have since it held my work things. I just told him to leave, go home and change his ways for the better. Godric saw. Of course, since he was the Sherriff of the area, he couldn't just let it slide. He quite quickly knocked me out , effectively eliminating any chance of me persuading him to let me go. He brought me to his nest where he planned on interrogating me and then killing me. It made sense, I suppose. I was a threat to his area, if I wanted to be. When I came around, the first thing I said was "Let me go." I didn't even panic. I just thought it would work and I'd be home in thirty minutes. But it didn't work. He looked like he was preparing for me to force him to do something, and looked quite relieved when I couldn't." She smiled slightly at that point, remembering the look of sheer ecstasy when it hit him. He just figured that she couldn't use her "magic" on vampires. Sarah had looked around to see that she was sat in a fancy looking room on a fancy looking chair. The irony almost made her laugh. Even then, she thought, the traces of the vampire she would later call her best friend were starting to show.

Eric, angered by this girl's pause, barked, "Continue."

She gave Eric an annoyed look, angry that she'd been interrupted from reminiscing, before launching back into the story. "He asked me questions, I answered them. I didn't know what I was, which is what he kept asking me, and he eventually decided that I didn't know anything about what I can do. He had to go to ground then, so he left me tied up for the day." She didn't then mention that it had been inexplicably excruciating being tied up in the position she was in for a full thirteen hours. When Godric had returned, this time with others, she had been pissed off. Obviously, she'd not been stupid enough to show her anger, but it was there nonetheless. She continued, "Once Isabel and Stan - they're his sec-"

Eric, irate that she thought she knew Godric more than he, snapped, "I know who they are!"

She resisted the urge to glare at him, and proceeded with her story. "Once they decided that they both thought I was telling the truth, he untied me. They quizzed me on practically my whole life before I persuaded them to let me go home. The next night, Godric came to my house asking if he could take me out to dinner, since he wanted to know more about me and what I could do. He thought dinner was nicer than another round of the Spanish Inquisition. I ate, we talked, we continued seeing each other and we eventually became friends." She shrugged, trying to play off their friendship like it was no big deal, when really she had loved Godric with everything she had. Not in a romantic way, per se - of course, she had initially been sexually attracted to him - but in a way that regarded them as something beyond friends but not lovers. In a clichéd sense, he completed her and vice versa.

Sarah sat still as Eric pondered her words. She knew it had not been exactly detailed, but she hoped it would placate him for now. She didn't know if she'd even be "ready" to discuss her relationship with Godric beyond a few generalized sentences. She felt like since their friendship had been all but secret when he was alive (or close enough), it should remain that way once he was no longer on the Earth.

Eric was outwardly calm, keeping his face emotionless and contemplative, but inside he was seething. His fangs were threatening to come down from the pure anger and the blood lust he had for this girl. He wanted her dead, yet a small part of him wanted her alive, just to find out what about this girl had captured his maker's attention, and what she lacked that made him leave his child.

He'd concocted several theories as to why she was here. Being the Viking he was, it was almost innate for him to question things, and the second after she'd made him read Godric's letter, he'd been trying to figure out why she was here, besides Godric telling her to find him. Godric had died four months previously, he reasoned, indicating that she didn't want to follow his orders. Clearly she wanted something. As she'd been talking, he'd made a few guesses, each as plausible as the last. Thankfully for him, she took a deep breath before explaining the reason why she was here.

"The letter he wrote me, the one you read, was given to me by Isabel after he'd…gone. At first I wasn't going to come here. I mean, why should I burden myself on someone who's a stranger to me? You have to understand that I'm not the sort of person to come running just because someone told me to. I have my pride, just like everyone else. But I need protection. The Fellowship of the Sun-"

Sarah was cut off by a deep sigh coming from Pam. The blond vampire was tired of the anti-vampire group springing up at every step. They were the reason Eric had returned from Dallas grieving. She had expected him to return gloating, having secured the blonde for his own pleasure, yet she'd welcomed him back to find him hiding from the world and himself. Obviously she'd felt her maker's agony upon Godric's death, but she'd not been too worried as it had passed before the morning came, and by the time she'd awoken the next night, she felt nothing. The Fellowship was the proverbial thorn in her side, something that she felt should be exterminated…and quickly.

Trying not to let her agreement with Pam's sigh show, Sarah continued to tell the story that was slowly wounding her pride. "The Fellowship of the Sun found out about me. Clearly they weren't happy that a human could influence actions. They thought it was too similar to vampires' glamour to be a coincidence and they're convinced that I'm an evolved vampire. Naturally, they've tried to kill me more than once. Godric protected me, and very well, for the time we were together and since his…death, Isabel has guarded me." She looked down at her hands again, fiddling nervously. She hadn't been nervous for a long time and her sweaty palms worried her more than she cared to admit. "I didn't want to impose on her. She's Sherriff now, and she's trying to settle into the new position. Most of the others in the nest are indifferent to whether I live or die so I can't ask them for help. I… I just need someone to make sure I don't die… just for a little while." She paused, risking a glance up. Eric's face was infuriatingly blank. She knew it was probably polite to say please, but she would never beg for his help. She would not stoop that low.

The true reason why she was trying so hard to remain alive was so Godric didn't die in vain. He had given himself over to the Fellowship to try to placate them; to take the heat off of Sarah. She was grateful for his sacrifice, obviously, but she would rather him still be here. She would have gladly endured them following her every move if it meant that Godric was there to endure it with her. Alas, she thought, everything happened for a reason. It was too late for "what if's", despite how much she wished it wasn't. Sarah refused to tell Eric why she really wanted to live. If he knew that Godric died trying to save her, the meek human, Eric would never help her. He would kill her on the spot. No, she decided, she would never tell him.

It was quiet for too long, she noted. Pam stood to the side of her maker stoically, her face not showing her opinion on anything that had been said - a trick she'd obviously learned from Eric. He didn't show any flicker of emotion in his face, simply rifling through details and thoughts in his head. Sarah was not at all still, constantly moving around in discomfort. She didn't know if she would leave here alive, yet. She could only hope.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Eric spoke. "You and Godric were close?"

Sarah silently questioned his tone of voice as it was not one she expected. She had anticipated the return of his anger, shouting perhaps, but not the quiet tone he spoke in then. It stumped her momentarily, but collected herself quickly to tell him that they were very close.

Eric's anger had slightly subsided as the rational side of his brain started to preside. His instincts were telling him to rip this girl's throat out and deal with the consequences after, yet a part of him recognized that this girl was important to Godric. He knew that however much he wanted to kill this girl for being close to one of the two people he was, he wouldn't - couldn't - kill her. She was a link to his maker, and exterminating the link would be like exterminating Godric. It was blasphemy. So he would be forced to suffer this girl until he found other arrangements for her safety.

So many questions were flying through his head - why didn't her witchcraft work on Godric, but it worked on him? Why didn't she "persuade" the Fellowship to leave her alone? What was so damn special about this girl?

"I will give you protection until I find other sources to do the job," he explained to the woman. Her face lit up slightly, relieved that she would live another night. "However, do not expect it to be comfortable. I will not accommodate you; you must acclimatize to my ways. That may mean sleeping in the bar if all the coffins are filled. Sometimes you will not sleep for days. Do you understand?" His words were clipped and emotionless, the fury gone and replaced with indifference. Truthfully, on a personal level, he didn't care if she died. He did, on the other hand, care for Godric, so he would ensure her survival. For now.

Sarah tried to contain her relief at not being killed by the Viking, but she didn't think she succeeded. "I didn't expect comfort," she replied honestly.

"Good."

Eric didn't want her staying with him. He would protect her at night, but there wasn't much he could do about it in the day. He needed a human or were he could trust. An idea appeared in his mind that had him proudly smiling. If he sent the girl to Sookie Stackhouse's, he would look somewhat heroic. It would show her that he was compassionate. Of course, she needn't know that he almost killed the girl first. Once Sookie started seeing him as something more than a dead murderer, his chances would rise exponentially. Plus, he could tell that she was growing tired of Bill. Eric flooded her dreams, he knew, and that was the main factor in driving a wedge between the couple. Eric was extremely proud of himself for tricking Sookie into drinking his blood. It was perfectly executed, he felt, and although it may have made her dislike for him grow in the short term, in the long run he knew she was growing more fond of him. This would further tilt the scales in favor of him. It was a plan that had holes in, but a plan nonetheless.

In terms of the girl's safety, staying with Sookie would be better than staying with him. He was dead to the world when the sun came up. Sookie had much experience with people trying to kill her; she should be able to extend her knowledge to the bothersome woman before him. Perhaps they could share survival skills.

Eric asked Pam in Swedish to call Sookie to inform her that this girl would be staying with her, starting the next morning. First, he needed to get to know this persuasive witch. He needed to know that she wouldn't hurt Sookie. Not that he doubted the blonde's ability to take care of herself. He knew that Sookie would be able to defend herself against this damsel in distress if need be.

Pam nodded, walking out of the room to do her master's bidding, leaving Eric and the gir- Sarah, he remembered from Godric's letter - alone. He stood up and walked over to the door.

"You will sleep in the bar for the day. I must take care of business for the remainder of this evening. You will stay in here. Don't touch anything, don't leave the room, don't answer the door to anyone."

He didn't wait to hear that she understood, before walking out of his office, down the hall towards the music, and out into the bar. As he walked, he thought of several things that this Sarah girl could do to repay him. She was incredibly stupid if she believed his protection would be free. Oh, no - he was planning on exploiting this girl's gift to its maximum potential.

He smirked at the customers, trying to shake off his earlier anger and focus on the opportunities this night had presented, and glided to his podium to sit proudly before the vermin. Eric's eyes scanned the room, looking for a blonde haired, brown-eyed beauty to satiate his appetite for the evening. It would pale in comparison to the real thing - Sookie - but it was a step in the right direction. Eric leaned back, and waited for the women to flock to him.

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**Thank you for reading :)**


	3. These Are Only Walls That Hold Me Here

**Sorry for taking ages - I'm such a waster when it comes to updating. **

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Sarah awoke when an abrupt noise registered in her mind. She then recognized the familiar sense of being incredibly uncomfortable. Opening her eyes, the memories of the previous night flooded her mind: biting the bullet and driving to Fangtasia, nearly dying, gaining the protection of a thousand year old vampire. She groaned slightly as she sat up from the plastic-y seats, her neck creaking in displeasure and her back groaning right along with her. She looked around her - the waitress who had brought her a glass of water last night was beside the bar throwing bottles into a plastic bag, making the horrendously loud noise that had woken Sarah up. When the waitress saw her, her eyes widened a little before she grinned.

"Hey there, sugar," she drawled, dropping the bag and walking up to where Sarah lay. "I'm Ginger." She held her hand out like the situation was normal. Sarah took it and shook it lightly, wary of this girl. Ginger was outwardly nice, but if she worked for Eric, Sarah knew where her loyalties lay. And they didn't lie with the tanned woman before her.

"Sarah," she replied. She winced slightly at the feeling in her throat. Being strangled the night before had certainly had an impact on her throat muscles and they constricted painfully when she spoke. She would have to limit the talking for the time being, she thought.

"I know," Ginger said happily. "Eric told me this mornin'. You're not allowed to leave just yet, by the way." The blonde then went back to her job of collecting bottles from the previous night, and mopping tables as she went.

Sarah felt a pang of irritation upon hearing that she wasn't 'allowed' to leave, but dismissed it quickly since she had been the one to find Eric. She would have to play by his rules for the time being. That did not, however, mean that she'd have to like it. So she nodded reluctantly, slumping back into the booth she'd slept on.

After Eric had left her alone in his office last night, she'd been at a loss at to what she was supposed to do until the bar closed. Was she simply to sit there, still, for hours on end? No, she had decided, she would not do such an unreasonable thing. However, she didn't want to piss Eric off by leaving the office. Glancing around, the sofa on the right of the room suddenly looked very appealing. Her eyelids already weighing down in anticipation, she had surged forwards towards the black couch and collapsed onto it. It was ridiculously comfortable, despite the initial coldness. Sarah was asleep within minutes.

She vaguely recalled being woken up brutally (with a few prods and someone snapping her name) and hauled into the bar area and thrown unceremoniously onto the chair she now sat on.

Feeling like a spare part in the bar area, Sarah took to looking around her. The place looked nicer when there was no one there, she decided. It was very clean, due to Ginger she expected, and it looked…well, it looked like a haunted house at a theme park. Pictures littered the blood-red walls adding to the charade of horror. Then again, Sarah thought, it probably did turn into a real horror-fest on busy nights. She'd never really been one for those kind of nights (although Godric did take her to a few when they were inseparable) so she wasn't looking forward to seeing Fangtasia in full swing when the weekend came.

"So are you looking for a job here, or something'?" Ginger asked, snapping her out of her reverie.

"No," Sarah told her quickly, not wanting her to misinterpret her being there, "I'm just looking for a favor."

Ginger continued to scrub at tables, placing the empty glasses into the godforsaken bag. "From Eric?" Ginger then snorted in a very unladylike manner, making her views on that matter very evident.

Sarah, fully agreeing with her after the previous night's debacle, nodded heavily. "I know," she sighed.

After Ginger finished her rounds she went through the employees only door, and remained there. She told Sarah she hoped to see her again with a toothy grin, but it didn't seem sincere. Still, Sarah didn't think anything of it, and was only worried about seeing Eric when he awoke.

Sarah's heart didn't know whether to leap or plummet when the door across the room opened to reveal Eric and Pam, neither looking like they'd just got out of…coffin. She sat up straighter, clearing her throat to place it back into use. Would he follow through on his promise of protection? Or would he simply throw her out on her ass?

She needn't have worried, however, since Eric and Pam walked straight through the bar and entered the employee's only door without even glancing at her. They acted as though she was simply a part of the furniture - inconsequential. Sarah didn't know whether this was good or not.

After what must've been an hour of waiting silently, the main door burst open to reveal a dark-haired man carrying a bleeding blonde in his arms. He looked around frantically, not even noticing Sarah, before opening his mouth. Sarah presumed he was going to shout Eric, but before a sound could emit from his mouth, Eric's office door swung open and he and Pam used their vampire speed to approach the man.

"What happened?" Eric asked calmly yet urgently as Pam cleared a few tables and pushed them together to make a very uncomfortable looking bed. The mystery man, Sarah noted, was a vampire, also. Clearly the blood surrounding him was having an affect, as his fangs were very prominently out. Either that, or he was prepared for battle. He placed the blonde, who was coughing up blood, onto the makeshift bed on her front.

From where she was sat, Sarah could see three large scratches running down the girl's back, blood pouring out of them. The back of her white t-shirt had been ripped open, either by whatever scratched her or her vampire friend. It made Sarah's stomach turn and her face twist in horror - this poor girl must have been in so much agony.

Eric barked a few orders at Pam in Swedish, and as Pam went to attend to them, Eric leant down to examine the blonde's scratches. He looked up to the dark haired man expectantly, and Sarah realised that he hadn't answered Eric's question.

"I don't know," the man said with a southern accent. "We had a fight in the car and she walked off into the woods. I heard her scream and went to see if she was all right, and I found her like this. I didn't know what to do so-"

"You were right to bring her here. A hospital wouldn't have known what to do," Eric murmured, his fangs peeking through his lips as they opened and closed with his words.

The unknown man kept on pacing up and down, enough to drive Eric to distraction as he observed the woman's wounds. He snapped at the man to stop, which he followed with a sneer at Eric.

"And what are _we_ going to do?" He asked through clenched teeth.

No sooner had he asked the question did a small woman - no taller than four feet maximum - march into the room with a look of determination on her face. The woman, dressed in blue doctor's overalls, immediately approached the blonde's make-shift bed, rifling through her large bag. Neither vampire greeted her, and she didn't even acknowledge them.

Sarah stood up and slowly walked over to where the three of them stood. As she got closer, the brutality of the scratches (if they could even been called scratches - incisions seemed more appropriate) became clearer. It also made it much more vivid when the woman, who Sarah assumed was a doctor, lightly prodded the cut making Sarah wince in horror and the girl release a cry of agony. Sarah couldn't understand how the Eric was watching so emotionlessly - it was making _her_ back start to hurt just looking at it. The man who brought her in, on the other hand, winced every time the blonde did. As the doctor began comparing the wounds to the scratch of a komodo dragon, Sarah paid rapt attention.

The woman on the table, coughing and panting, asked, "I was…scratched by dragon?" in a tone that suggested she didn't believe that for a second. Sarah took a good look at her face. She was pretty, she thought, even though she was smeared in blood. Her hair was the exact color Sarah wanted as a child when it was the height of fashion to be tanned and blonde. Sarah had always had the tanned part down, but her mother refused to let her have her hair dyed. Thus, when a feeling of envy crept into Sarah's mind, she could understand where it came from. She did not, however, envy her the cuts on her back.

"No," the woman replied, "this poison is similar but way more efficient." She grabbed a bottle of blue liquid, and swished it around a little.

"Give us some privacy. I need to remove her clothing," the doctor ordered. She then glanced over at Sarah. "You can stay to help."

Eric and the man she didn't know turned to look at her, their eyebrows raising as though they'd only just noticed her presence. Perhaps they had.

"Why does she g-" The mystery man started, but Eric cut him off by snapping, "Bill!" and quite literally dragging him through the office door.

During this altercation, the doctor had successfully taken the blonde's t-shirt right off, leaving her back exposed. It looked even worse now she could see the slightly yellowed skin surrounding it.

"Hold her down," the doctor ordered, positioning herself closer to the table.

"What?" Sarah asked dumbly, not understanding why she'd need holding down.

The doctor repeated her order, much more impatiently, and Sarah jerkily moved around to the front of the table to grab onto the woman's arms. Sarah gave her a sympathetic look, trying to communicate her wishes for her well-being to the woman, but she was too far gone to see it.

The reason why the blonde needed holding down were clear when the doctor poured the liquid in the bottle onto the scratches. The woman began to scream in shear agony, writhing in torment, screaming "Stop!" over and over. Sarah was very close to releasing her arms so that the girl may not have to endure this pain, but she knew that if she did, the doctor would only call in a vampire to hold her down instead. So Sarah clung on, whispering, "I'm sorry," repeatedly like it would help at all.

Upon hearing her screams, the woman's vampire-friend - Bill - ran in like a bat out of hell to see what the women were torturing her with. He came just in time to see the doctor shove her finger into the wound and drag it through, as though trying to fish something out. When she eventually found what she was looking for, she pulled, revealing a small claw. All through this, the girl howled in pain and writhed even more, causing Sarah to exert every bit of energy she had into holding her down. Sarah, the doctor and Bill all looked at the claw in dismay and disgust, as it affirmed that whatever it was that scratched her was very real and very dangerous.

When the girl stopped thrashing and the doctor began packing up her things, Sarah remembered that she was grasping the woman's upper arms with a force that could bruise her. She immediately let go as though burned, wiping the sweat on her work trousers. She stood back up at the same time as Eric walked back into the bar. Quickly, she moved away from the table towards the booth where she was sitting. She didn't move too far away, though, because she wanted to see if the girl would heal.

"You can give her blood now," the doctor said, getting ready to leave. "Her body should accept it."

Without even thinking, Bill lifted his wrist to his mouth, preparing to bite.

"Allow me," Eric purred, clamping his hand down on Bill's wrist.

"Never." Bill tried to remove Eric' hand from his wrist, but as the Viking had hundreds of years on him, he couldn't.

Just as Sarah was getting ready to sit back down, the drama now over, Eric's eyes landed on her for the second time that evening, glistening with excitement.

"I could always make you," he told Bill, his eyes fixated on Sarah. In response to his words, Sarah's eyes widened, her head already shaking in refusal.

"Really?" Bill replied sarcastically, his mouth tilting up in disbelief. "And just how would you do that, Eric?" He turned his head slightly to look at Eric's face, and when he saw where his eyes were staring, he turned to look at Sarah as well.

"Sarah," Eric barked, "Come here."

Shocked at his audacity, her head still shaking, Sarah stumbled forwards a few steps. She lowered her head down and spoke quietly, even though most people in the room could hear her anyway.

"Eric, I'm not doing that. I won't." Her teeth were gritted slightly in anger - how dare he? First, she thought, he was admonishing her for using her freaky gift, then he was telling her to use it, only to aid his cause? She'd had her "gift" exploited before, and it only caused trouble. She wouldn't do it.

Irritated that she was publicly denying him, Eric tried again. "Remember that I am giving you my protection. You owe me." _She couldn't argue with that_, he thought.

Yet she continued to deny him. "And I'll repay that debt, but not like this. I won't do it."

As the two impetuous people bickered, Bill was watching and listening carefully as he fed Sookie his blood. She sucked almost greedily, he noted to his pleasure, and he wished that Eric was paying more attention so he could see how much Sookie wanted _his _blood. Bill was slightly miffed to find that Eric was far more interested in arguing with the tanned woman who had been hovering all night. He didn't understand what they were quarrelling about. All he observed was that Eric wanted the girl to do something, and the girl was refusing. He knew it had something to do with what Eric had previously said - I could make you.

The declaration was ridiculous, Bill knew, but why was the girl vehemently protesting? Surely the meek human couldn't make Bill do anything.

Sarah got even more angry when Eric grabbed her forearm and yanked her closer to him. She gasped in pain, looking down at her arm before staring back into Eric's eyes.

"I know what you're trying to do," she hissed, "and it's not going to work. I. Won't. Do. It."

Her will was breaking. She was here for Godric, she knew…but if Eric was going to continue being childish then she would leave, consequences be damned. She would quit her job, and just run. She would take out all her money and run. Somewhere where she could disappear, away from the Fellowship's power. Somewhere in Europe? In the mountains? Asia? There were billions living there. She could constantly matriculate, if she needed to. She wouldn't mind running - her instinct to survive was greater than her pride. Even if she was walking away from Eric, she would rather be seen as weak in his eyes than have to put up with him every night.

When Eric only tightened his grip, it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Sarah sighed, and rolled her eyes. "You know what? I'm sorry I came. I really shouldn't have bothered you. I'll leave." When she turned to walk away, she was angered to find that Eric didn't let go. She glared at him. "Let go."

And, of course, he did.

She headed straight for the door, shouting, "I hope she's okay," at Bill as she went. Before she could reach the door, however, Pam appeared from nowhere, blocking her way.

"Don't leave yet," she drawled, "we were having fun."

Not wanting to use her "gift" again, she put her head in her hands. "Pam, just let me leave. I shouldn't have come."

She heard the telltale sound of a vampire moving at the speed of light behind her. She turned to see Eric stood there with a murderous expression on his face. She gulped and breathed deeply, fearing that he might try to strangle her again.

"If you are going to remain here, you must stop doing that."

When she opened her mouth to argue, he interrupted her in a quiet voice. "On me, anyway. Secondly, you will not leave. I promised you that I would look after you. In effect, I also made that promise to Godric. If this is the one thing I can do for him, I will do it to the best of my ability. So sit back down. You're staying. Besides, you could be useful yet." He walked off after his speech, leaving no room for discussion.

Resigned that it would be better for her if she did stay, she vowed that she would wait until the end of the week to make a final decision. She would force her way out of there, if it came to it. But she _would_ wait.

For Godric.

* * *

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Feedback would be spectacularly helpful. Just sayin'.


	4. The Stars Have All Been Blown Out

Eric waked off after his speech, leaving Sarah to grumpily follow his retreating back. As the infuriating Viking stopped beside the blonde's bedside, Sarah glanced down to see if she was healed. To her pleasure, she saw absolutely no sign of injury on the woman's back, only tanned skin which drifted into paler sections from tan lines. On a less pleasurable note, she saw that Bill was scowling at Eric with hatred written all over his face. From their altercation earlier, she was smart enough to deduce that Bill had something that Eric wanted - the woman who was half asleep on the table. Immediately, she felt sorry for Bill - she knew that if Eric wanted something, he would usually get it. It was unfair and unjust, she knew, but that was the truth. Godric operated on something similar to this, so she was quite immune to the manipulation Eric would try (and already had tried) to exert. Godric, although he usually got what he wanted, obtained his desires through respect, not manipulation. When Sarah first met him, she was like any other girl - she fawned at his every request, never questioning anything he asked of her (not that he asked for much). After a while as they grew closer, she became comfortable enough to deny him, to fight when she didn't agree with something he decided. He'd told her that it was actually endearing, but she wasn't surprised in the slightest that Eric found it annoying and distasteful.

Sarah was too busy reminiscing about Godric to hear what Eric said the doctor, but she would never have been too busy to hear her yell, "Fuck off!" at him. She couldn't help but crack a big smile as she looked over her shoulder at the woman who she'd suddenly gained immense respect for. As she let her eyes drift back to the blonde, she caught Eric grinning as well. Their eyes locked as they both turned back to face the now healed woman, and Sarah was far too pissed at him to give in first and look away. Her smile diminished and she raised an eyebrow, hoping to tempt him to look away first. Annoyingly, he only raised one back, his hands clasped behind his back.

Their staring contest lasted over a minute before Bill sighed impatiently. "The sun will rise shortly. Can I go to ground here?" His voice was strained with the effort of civility, Sarah noted, which only confirmed her earlier theory.

Eric only nodded, his eyes never drifting from Sarah's. From her peripheral, Sarah saw Bill lifting the blonde and carrying her though the employees only door. When the door shut, Sarah sighed in irritation.

She purposefully rolled her eyes, losing eye contact, and murmured, "Ridiculous," before slumping over to her sleeping booth. As she walked away with the weight of defeat heavy on her pride, she could almost feel Eric's smugness rolling off him in waves. She refused to turn around, simply sliding into the booth and laying down. She closed her eyes, faking sleep, when she heard Eric's voice much closer than expected.

"You will be staying with that woman while you're here. At nights, she will bring you here. This will continue for however long you plan on staying. You might think about getting a job for the daylight hours. I know that Sookie works for a Shifter in her hometown. I'm sure you could inquire there."

Throwing her previous indignation out the window, she rolled around and sat up, glaring at the vampire. "I have a job, thank you very much."

"Not one you can keep while hundreds of miles away," he replied easily, as though he had an answer for everything. Sarah wondered if he did. Surely at one thousand years, you must've had every conversation possible.

"I can do most of it through the phone and the internet."

She could tell that he was having an internal battle over whether or not he should give in and ask her what she did for a living. In the end, his pride won out, and he walked into his office without even a backward glance.

Disorientated was how Sarah felt when she awoke. It had taken her hours to fall asleep that morning, tossing and turning as much as possible in the small booth. The material of the seat was sticking to her body that was currently slick with sweat, making sitting up an easy task. Bringing a hand to her hair to flatten it, she looked around her trying to remember where the hell she was.

The red. Of course.

The only thing different from waking up the previous morning was that Ginger had been replaced with the girl from the previous night - Sookie, Eric had called her. Being from a big city, Sarah thought she had heard every name imaginable. She had never heard of the name Sookie, but she decided that it quite suited the girl before her, despite her personality still being a mystery. Sarah thought she _looked_ like a Sookie.

Regardless, the blonde was pacing backwards and forwards in the bar area, only wearing a blood red (naturally) Fangtasia t-shirt. She had cleaned up since the night before, leaving Sarah to wonder about a shower. She was sure that she stunk, and it almost put her off walking up to the woman - Sookie - and introducing herself.

But not quite.

"Hey," she said confidently, used to talking to strangers. "I'm Sarah. I was here last night when you were brought in."

Sookie turned around, startled. Her hand was glued to her heart, which Sarah was sure was beating erratically. Throwing her an apologetic look, she threw her hand out and smiled in what she hoped was a kind gesture.

Sookie took her hand and shook it delicately. "Hi, I'm Sookie Stackhouse." Sookie took the opportunity to give Sarah the once over, seeing as she was at a disadvantage - Sarah had been fully conscious the previous night. Sarah stood still momentarily, letting Sookie get a good impression, before becoming uncomfortable and asking how she was.

Smiling brightly, Sookie replied, "Oh, I'm just fine now. Bill's blood worked."

Sarah, lacking anything else to add, simply nodded slowly, as though that was a difficult concept to grasp.

She noticed that Sookie looked…confused? As though Sarah was a puzzle that she couldn't' crack. Thankfully, the blonde broke the awkward silence that followed with a question that only exacerbated it. "So, are you an Eric-"

Before she could get any further, Sarah's head snapped to look at her and she gasped, "God, no!"

It was almost enough to make Sarah gag. The idea of having any kind of relationship with Eric - platonic or otherwise - was something that made her stomach turn. From what she had seen, he was an arrogant, chauvinistic pig who lacked any sort of emotion, except when it came to Godric. That concept was a bit of a mystery to Sarah. For someone who claimed to be indifferent to everything and everyone in the world, Eric was definitely temperamental when it came to his maker. Obviously, their relationship was beyond a normal human one, but it seemed that Eric was showing Sarah…feelings, because of her link with Godric. Surely, if he really didn't care what happened to her, he wouldn't protect her? And not only that, but refuse to let her leave? To rid himself of the burden?

It baffled Sarah. Clearly, Eric had nearly everyone fooled that he was cold-hearted…which was evidently not the case.

Still, she harbored a major dislike for him that bordered on hatred. The idea of even liking him was absurd.

Sookie smiled indulgently. "He does give off the impression of being a monster."

Sarah wanted to call Sookie out on her statement and naivety - he was a vampire. All vampires were monsters. They lived off human blood that was - until recently, and she was sure even now - given unwillingly.

Again, Sarah was met with a kink to her theory - Godric. He can't have been the only kind vampire in the world. This flaw was the reason why she held her tongue.

Her silence must've acted as an invitation for Sookie to continue talking. "I _have _seen another side to him, though, so he isn't completely lost." As she said this, Sookie seemed to be thinking about what she was saying in great detail, as though it was a revelation of sorts.

Sarah snorted. "He must really like you, then." She laughed lightly, trying to steer the topic off of heavy things and onto more interesting matters than _Eric_.

Sookie, on the other hand, had different ideas. "He didn't mean for me to see, I don't think. I just happened to be there when he lost someone he cared about."

Sarah froze. The only people Eric cared about were Pam and Godric, and Pam was still her undead sarcastic self. Which meant that Sookie was talking about Godric.

All rationality left her. If she'd have been thinking, she would have thought about her next words carefully. She would have made sure that her connection to Godric went unnoticed by this woman. Sarah was smart enough to question everybody, so naturally she didn't trust Sookie enough to divulge her closeness to Godric.

Alas, she didn't think, and only prompted, "Who?"

Sookie sighed a soft, remorseful sigh, but Sarah could tell that she was somewhat glad at the opportunity to talk about it with someone. "His maker. I was helping Eric out on a job in Dallas when his maker met the sun. I helped him out by staying with him on the roof of the building." She shook her head a little dramatically. "I swear, he was so different. As though he loved him with all he had."

Tears sprang to Sarah's eyes. Sookie was _there_. She was _there _when he died. She was present when her best friend left the Earth. She was the last person he saw.

Sarah looked down and blinked rapidly, trying to pull herself together before she completely fell apart in front of this practical stranger. She couldn't help but blurt, "Was he in pain? When he met the sun?" Her voice shook, she knew, but she couldn't find it in her to care.

It had been bothering her since Isabel had broken the news to her. Did he die in agony? Did he want Isabel, or Sarah to be there? Or had he simply taken it like the vampire she knew he was?

She was happy when she saw Sookie shake her head out of the corner of her eye. "He said that he _wanted _to burn. He was…happy at the idea of death."

That was enough.

"Where's the shower, here?" Sarah demanded, her voice scarcely above a whisper. She didn't care if she was being rude - she'd helped save this woman's life the night before. Okay… she only held her down, but still, Sarah thought, it was a contribution. Thus, she didn't care about etiquette. She couldn't break down in front of this woman, or anyone for that matter.

Sookie, startled at the sudden change in topic, told her where they were and where the towels were.

Once under the spray of the scalding water, Sarah started to weep like she had in the first week of her grieving. She had balled up in her room for days, never leaving, never eating, only getting the odd glass of water every now and then. Work had been frantically trying to reach her, calling her cell at least six times every day. She felt guilty for abandoning her duties. She felt weak. But she couldn't face the world just yet.

Sarah thought back to Sookie's words - he had _wanted _to die? He wanted to _burn_? Why? That wasn't the Godric she knew; the Godric who had told her that he wouldn't leave her. Why would he claim to welcome death when it also meant that he lost Sarah? That he lost Isabel? Eric?

Obviously, Sarah knew from his letter that he had purposefully killed himself. It was suicide. But him actually wanting death more than life? To want to be rid of everything good in his life? It was an idea that Sarah didn't understand. It may have been conceited, she knew, but she didn't care. That wasn't the Godric that she knew.

Perhaps she didn't know him at all. Maybe that was what the universe was trying to tell her - that she only knew the side of Godric that Godric had wanted her to know.

Sarah lost track of time as she sat under the continual stream of water. When it turned cold, scaring her as it turned the temperature of ice, she knew it was time to get out.

As she patted herself dry with the scratchy towel, she wondered if she would be allowed out to her car to grab a few things. She'd not packed much - not knowing if Eric would agree or not - so the clothing options would be limited, but anything would be better than the grey suit she'd been wearing for two days.

Remembering Eric's orders about not leaving, she hollered out to Sookie. When she heard a small, "Yes?", she politely asked if she could take the keys on the table, go to the BMW in the parking lot, open the trunk and grab the bag in there. When Sookie somewhat hesitantly agreed, she thanked her profusely and moved backwards into the bathroom. Her reflection caught her eye, much to Sarah's displeasure. Her skin was blotchy from the heat of the shower, her eyes were red and puffy and surrounded by dark circles and her collar bones stuck out almost painfully. This wasn't the Sarah Godric loved, that was for sure.

Sookie knocked tentatively on the door, and Sarah opened it with a fake smile to try and apologize for her previous behavior. Sookie smiled back, but it wasn't as genuine as her earlier grins. Upon closing the door again, Sarah sighed and put on some casual clothes she'd packed.

If she was being honest with herself, she needed some new clothes. The majority of her wardrobe consisted of suits, since she was almost constantly working, and any clothes she had for casual occasions had become too loose since Godric's death. Sure, she still went to the gym every week, but her lack of eating meant that she had less energy and couldn't work out like she used to.

Walking out into the bar area, she was surprised to see Eric, Pam and Bill sitting around a table with Sookie. She looked at ease with them, despite the touch of discomfort her posture showed. She said something that made Pam laugh - even her laugh was sarcastic - and Sarah wondered just how much effort Eric was putting into obtaining her. He didn't seem to be doing much so far…

Sarah moved into the bar area, finally catching Sookie's attention. The blonde - who appeared to be the opposite of Sarah in every way - smiled slightly at her, almost as an invitation to join them. So Sarah carefully trod barefoot towards them, minding any shards of glass that might've been there. When she reached the table, she suddenly felt out of place. The people sat down were there by choice - they were wanted. Sarah was being forced upon them. It made the atmosphere essentially…awkward.

Before Sarah could walk away, Eric said, "You will be staying with Ms Stackhouse during the daylight hours. You will return here every night," without even looking at her.

Sarah frowned. He was going to impose her on someone else? Place someone else in danger? Sookie seemed like a sweet girl, but she didn't exactly look like someone who could handle being attacked by professionals.

"But-"

Eric cut her off. "This is non-negotiable. Sookie has dealt with the Fellowship enough to take care of someone else for a short period of time."

She had dealt with them? This innocent looking woman who looked like she couldn't hurt a fly had dealt with the Fellowship?

Her confusion must've shown on her face, since Sookie threw her an indulgent smile, but didn't elaborate. She did, however, provide, "I live in Bon Temps. It's about an hour or so from here… it's a real nice town, I think you'll like it."

Sarah knew that she didn't have any say in the matter - she was going to live with Sookie Stackhouse, and that was final.

This wasn't what she'd had in mind when she'd left Dallas.

A silence followed that seemed to last forever, taking over all five of them. It was broken by a loud ringing, and Sarah recognized it as her phone from the bag Sookie had brought in.

"Excuse me," she murmured, running to grab it, if only to get away from the tension of the room.

When she found it, hidden under all the paper work she'd brought from her office, she froze upon seeing the caller ID:

_Godric_

As though working on auto-pilot, she pressed the green telephone button, and brought it, shaking, to her ear.

"Hello?"

It seemed surreal. It was such a normal thing to do - answer the phone - but right then it seemed like a dream. She was answering a call from a dead man.

"Hello, Sarah. This is Steve Newlin…"

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Feedback would be greatly appreciated - I'd really like to know what you think so far. Is there anything you'd like to see? Is there anything you **_**wouldn't **_**like to see? Is there anything I can improve on? **

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	5. Something's Made Your Eyes Go Cold

_I giggle girlishly as I drag him along the street. Snow falls from the night sky, falling delicately and perfectly on his dark hair, melting straight away and then vanishing. The street isn't as busy as it was this morning, I noted, which pleased me since I know he hates crowds. He's much more at easy when he's simply surrounded by those he loves. I smile as I think that - I'm one of those people. _

_We're surrounded by lights now, either from shop windows or the Christmas lights that hang boldly across the street. I've always loved this time of year - people are much nicer and happier, which means that I have less work, which in turn means that I have more time with the man who is currently sighing in displeasure._

"_Sarah," he reprimands, although the twinkle in his eye shows me that he doesn't really mean it. "I don't need a cell phone. Who will call me?"_

_I laugh again, feeling free and exultant. It's Christmas Eve, and I have a whole week to myself with my favorite person in the world in my favorite place in the world - New York City._

"I_ will," I tell him, playfully appalled that he can even ask that. "And Isabel. And I bet Stan's just itching to exchange numbers and be text buddies." I gasp as though I have suddenly found the cure for cancer. "You can even Tweet to each other!"_

_He doesn't know what I'm talking about, I know, but it's too much fun seeing the look on his face. He's confused, but he refuses to show it. He always says that since he has two millenniums on me, I'm not allowed to make him feel as though he has no knowledge of technology. "I've helped build technology," he usually says, to which I never have a reply. _

"_You do know that I have no idea what you're talking about?" _

_I nod, smiling when I see that we're at the right shop. I practically bound up to the man in the uniform who looks as though this is the last place he wants to be, and explain the situation to him._

_He puts on a good charade, I'll give him that. The phone-man smiles and quizzes us on what kind of cell we want, and, since the Luddite I'm with doesn't have a clue what we're talking about, I answer them all._

_When I receive the new cell, I don't open the box to make sure it's correct. I just want to buy it, go home and watch a movie with the fire on. A glass of mulled wine wouldn't go amiss either, I think._

_I pay the man, giving him a little extra to thank him for his help - it _is _Christmas Eve after all - and bound right back out again, the whole process only taking fifteen minutes. _

"_You didn't have to purchase it for me. If you want me to have one so much, I wouldn't have objected to buying it myself." Of course he protests. He's a gentleman, and while that is extremely charming at times, I am constantly reminding him of the progression of women - including our wages._

_So I roll my eyes like I always do, pulling out the phone from the box finally. Turning it on, I put my number into the phone book, taking a picture as I do so. I barely glance at the photo, only scoffing at the redness of my cheeks and nose. I give the phone to the person it's for, and grin widely as he pulls me into a thankful hug._

"_It's a gift. You're not suppose to pay for it. Besides, I have selfish reasons for giving you one anyway - I can reach you whenever I want to, and you can do the same. It can be our way of connecting when I'm traveling or you're doing your Sherriff business."_

_He places a kiss on my freezing cold nose and pulls my hat down over my eyes so that I'm left in the dark._

_Only I'm never in the dark when I'm with him. It's always light._

_I pull it up, scowling at him. "Don't lose it. I don't want some crazy vampire ringing me in the middle of the day at work." When he raises a skeptical eyebrow, I raise both of mine. "I'm serious! You lose your car keys whenever you need them. Do _not _lose that Blackberry, Godric!"_

_

* * *

_

She could hear her blood. It thudded in her ears, making everything else in the world seem silent. Her stomach plummeted several feet beneath her, bottoming out into an oblivion. It was an awful feeling, she thought, to be placed on her at such a time. Then again, things like these never happened at 'convenient' times.

As she tried to control her breathing in order to prevent hyperventilation, Steve Newlin, the man she had been trying to avoid for months, continued speaking as though Sarah was an old friend.

"I'm taking your silence to mean that you remember me," he conversed easily. It was…baffling to her, to say the least. How could he sit there, as though he didn't almost kill her? As though he didn't almost kill the people she cared about? As though he _hadn't _killed people she cared about?

When she didn't reply, he took it as an extended invitation to speak. "I know you think that you're safe since you've moved out of your charming little apartment here in Dallas, but don't get too comfortable wherever you are. We will find you, you anomaly of nature. We heard about Godric, by the way. It was noble, I must adm-"

Suddenly, without warning, it was over. Sarah's eyes snapped up to meet the ones of the person who had snatched the phone out of her hand and thrown it across the room before she could even blink: Eric.

His fangs were out; she could tell, despite the hard line of his mouth. He looked like he had the night she'd arrived and 'interrupted' him - furious and merciless.

"If that number calls again, do not answer it," he told her, his tone clipped and leaving no room for discussion.

So, without anything better to do, she nodded once and bent to put her cell back into her bag. But while she was down there, she found it difficult to get back up.

Slumped on the floor with her back against the wall. Sarah realized that she probably looked pathetic to Eric. Here she was, broken because of her past, while Sookie, someone who was also dealing with the Fellowship and other vampire crap sat laughing in the other room.

Sarah's strength of character was waning.

She'd always been proud to say that she was strong. She didn't cry on the playground when she fell over like the other children did. She didn't give up when someone at University questioned her being there, or her dedication to the subject. She just picked herself up, held her head high and got over it. Since Godric's death, she was finding the last part difficult. She didn't want to get over it. She couldn't forget him and pretend like everything was fine when it wasn't. When he had died, a part of her had died with him, and whenever something reminded her of him, that part died again and again until it got to the point she was at now - defeated.

Sookie's admission that Godric had wanted to die was adding to her weak state. He had given up, in her eyes…so why couldn't she?

Remembering that she was not alone as she had been in the shower previously, she stood up (a task which was far more difficult that it should have been) and looked Eric in the eye - she would _have _to pretend, even if it killed her.

"How did you know?" She asked him, her fingers weaving in and out of themselves.

"Your heartbeat. The distinct change of your blood. I could smell your fear," he replied simply. He didn't add that her fear was curious. As he'd watched the girl practically break down, only to pull herself back to pieces again, he could see the fear written on her face. Yet her fear didn't strike him as generic…it was something more. As though she was not afraid of the people who were chasing her, but rather of something much more pressing. As though she was fearful of herself.

He'd not seen fear cross her face once since he met her. Even when he was strangling her, the fear had been in her eyes not her face.

It was curious, he thought. For the first time since Sookie Stackhouse, Eric wanted to know what was going on inside a human's mind.

Sarah nodded as he answered, his reply being very obvious now that she thought about it. She felt the urge to thank him for stopping that horrific conversation - if it could be called that - from going somewhere that would have made her feel even worse than she already did.

But she wouldn't thank him. It wasn't _in _her to thank someone for something so tedious. She had found that it had gained her respect in the past, and if she wanted Eric to know that she couldn't be messed with - despite her earlier weakness - then she would not thank him, nor would she apologize to him in the time that she spent there.

However, it appeared that Eric did not expect, nor want, to be thanked, as he walked straight back out of the room and into the bar, his fangs sliding back into his teeth with a small click.

* * *

The silence was awkward. Bill drove Sookie's tiny yellow car, with his partner beside him and Sarah in the back seat, cramped up. Her bag was shoved in with her, taking up even more room. She was uncomfortable, and the silence that surrounded her was uncomfortable.

Fortunately (or not so fortunately) for her, Sookie seemed to thrive under awkward situations.

Sarah could almost _see _her grin get wider with each passing word she spoke.

"I hope you'll like it in Bon Temps. People are real nice. Well, some of 'em are. Some of 'em are just pigs but you'll get that with towns wherever you go."

Sarah smiled politely as she caught Sookie looking in the wing mirror at her. She clered her throat that had been out of use, and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear - a nervous habit she'd picked up over the years. "I'm sure I'll love it."

Sookie continued to talk about the town and the house they were heading towards, Sarah tried to listen. Really, she did. Yet she found that it was extremely hard to think about shopping for new clothes when she was trying to figure out what would be the best way to stay hidden from the people who were trying to kill her.

Newlin's one-sided conversation had proved one thing, Sarah thought - that they were looking for her, and they wouldn't stop. Humans were easier to find than vampires were - Sarah had a job, an apartment (albeit an abandoned one) and a bank account with a popular branch. All Newlin needed to do would be to put the pieces together, one by one… and then she would be dead.

She couldn't rely on a vampire who hated her to keep her safe, nor could she rely on this stranger who - although kind for taking her in - she knew absolutely nothing about. How did she know that Eric wasn't just throwing her towards Sookie to kill her? So he didn't have to be burdened with her? So he wouldn't feel guilty towards Godric - if he wasn't the one to kill her, it wasn't his fault?

The answer was that she didn't. But she would have to have faith - something that didn't come easily to Sarah anymore.

Bon Temps was typical of any other Southern town. It had a popular local hang-out (a bar called Merlotte's, that Sookie had excitedly pointed out that she worked there), small modern houses and large plantation houses that looked beautiful bathed in moonlight.

Overall, Sarah decided, it was…nice. She could live here with no qualms. Then again, she thought, she didn't really have much of a choice.

Bill pulled the car right onto a long driveway, with a large house at the end of it. It looked slightly battered and worn, but it looked good nonetheless. As Sookie helped Sarah with her bag into the house, she merrily pointed out all the different rooms and where things were that she'd need. Sarah wanted to simply go to bed - a proper bed with actual pillows - but if this woman was offering her somewhere to stay that wasn't a booth, Sarah would smile and bear it as though she wanted to do nothing else at that moment in time.

When the tour was done with, Sookie looked aghast as she looked at Sarah.

"You look so tired!" She quickly led Sarah into the guest bedroom, apologizing for keeping her awake. Sarah did her best to dismiss the apologies, but her eyes kept glancing to the bed, and the pillows, and the duvet, and the blanket…

Sookie said goodnight and walked out the door, and before Sarah realized how she managed to travel from the door to the bed, her head had hit the pillow and she was asleep.

* * *

They were coming. They were surrounding her everywhere, closing in on her with guns at the ready. Some of them even had stakes in the case that she was some sort of evolved vampire. Regardless, they were close. She would be dead within seconds. She looked to the sky in a last chance of redemption, and thought in her mind, _"I'm sorry." _She had failed him. She'd not managed to evade them.

_They'd found her._

Out of nowhere, there he was. Dressed in white, looking angelic and beautiful, as he always had. He didn't smile, she noted. Godric always smiled when he saw her. Why wasn't he smiling?

And then his arm was on fire. Burning, blazing and spreading quickly. He was burning to death, shouting in agony, writhing, begging to be killed so the pain would stop, screaming, _screaming_….

It was her. Sarah woke up with a jolt, her whole body sitting up like they did in the movies. She silenced her scream immediately upon realizing that the shrill sound had been emitting from her. Hot tears streamed down her face relentlessly, and her body shook as though she were the one burning.

Then she remembered. Something had woken her up, and it wasn't her screaming.

Her head snapped to the window like she already knew who was there. Sure enough, hovering like he was standing on a tall box, was the latest person who had tried to kill her - Eric.

She quickly wiped the tears away, reprimanding herself for being so weak. It had been three months, she reasoned. It was time that she picked herself up from it. To be honest, she had been gradually getting closer to his death being bearable. Clearly, her earlier conversation with Sookie and with Steve Newlin had re-opened old scars.

Sarah climbed out of bed, rolling her eyes at her laziness earlier - she had not gotten changed - and walked over to the window. Pulling it up with such force that the window shook, she glared and snapped, "What?"

The second it had slipped out she regretted it. He might have been an arrogant bastard, but that was no way to talk to someone who could potentially save your life, she reasoned. Indeed… she should've shut her mouth. But she was too wound up - he had seen her in a moment of weakness again. It couldn't happen a third time. She wouldn't allow it. She'd not seen him weak at all… she was at a major disadvantage.

To her relief, he simply smirked. "I came to see if Bill had managed to keep you alive for the car journey, at least."

Sarah wasn't amused. She knew that he didn't really come there to see if she was alive. He was out of her hands now, so why would he care?

Catching the look of skepticism on her face, Eric relented. "And to thank Sookie. She's doing both you and I a large favor by letting you stay here."

_Ah_. That she couldn't argue with. "I know," she sighed, looking down and dropping the angry act. "I'm really grateful."

Eric _really _wanted to know. He was desperate to ask her what she'd been dreaming about. It was almost killing him to not find out what had made her scream as though the world was ending. He still hated her, yes, but he couldn't help but be interested. She had an ability, like Sookie, and had a past… an interesting one, involving his maker. Plus, he decided, Godric wouldn't have kept her around if she'd been boring.

Eric was starting to see what Godric had been intrigued about initially.

But he could admit to himself, and Sarah for that matter, that he didn't like her at all. Interest and like were two very different things. He could like her mind, he decided, but he couldn't deal with her personality. She was too stubborn, too strong-willed, too hot-headed. No, she could never be anything more than an acquaintance. Sookie, on the other hand…

_She _was stubborn too, but not like Sarah. Sookie could be hot-headed when pushed. But Sookie had something that Sarah could never have - a warm heart. Sookie, despite her losses and her lifestyle, was still kind to everyone she met. Sarah, on the other hand, didn't trust anyone. She didn't even trust Sookie, the over-smiley, bubbly girl who looked as though she couldn't hurt a fly.

However, another part of his mind reasoned, Sookie's warm-heartedness could be irritating. She trusted too easily, was too naïve and sometimes too stupid to see what was going on around her. She was swayed too easily.

No. He didn't like Sarah. Nor would he ever. But that wouldn't stop him from satiating his curiosity…

So he smirked at her, and purred, "Can I come in?"

* * *

**Sorry for any typos!  
Thank you for reading! Also, thank you very much to those who reviewed the last chapter. I really appreciate feedback. **

**Any comments on improvements that can be made? What you enjoyed/didn't? What do you think might happen next, etc? :)**


	6. It Came To Change Us All For Good

**I'm so sorry for not getting back to reviewers last chapter - I've been swamped in RL, and I figured you'd rather have a long chapter than wait for me to write back to you. I really do appreciate every single one of them, though. Thank you very much. :)**

* * *

Her immediate thought was to tell him no. Tell him that it was Sookie's house, not hers, and if he wanted to be invited in then he should take it up with her.

But when he spoke again, the plan in her mind dissolved quicker than it had formulated. "Technically, I can already enter. I'm simply asking out of politeness."

She could tell by the tone of his voice and the way his eyes never left hers that he was going to end up in the room no matter what her answer was.

She sighed, and made a gesture for him to slide in through the window; because really, she thought, what else was she going to do? She slumped over to her bed, pulling the covers tight around her - a security blanket, of sorts. She clung to it like it would keep him away if he tried to attack her again. She didn't want to be strangled once more for doing something as simple as walking through a door.

"Why are you here?" She asked him, not believing the whole "checking up" idea.

When he replied, "to drop your car off," in an innocent tone as he looked around the room, taking everything in, she huffed. That wasn't the case either, she knew.

When she realized that she wasn't going to get a straight answer out of him, it only succeeded in making her want one more. She wasn't the sort of person to just leave it. The matter needed to be pushed. "Are you here to see Sookie?"

For only a second, Eric paused. She wouldn't have noticed it if she hadn't been looking for it, but since she was, she grinned in satisfaction when she did. So she pushed even harder.

"Ahh," she exclaimed proudly. "I knew you were interested in her."

"My interest in Sookie Stackhouse is no secret," he told her, a little too harshly for her to ignore.

She wanted to push further just to see how far she could go, but in all honesty, she didn't really care about Eric's affections. She was still shaken from her dream, and she didn't feel like company, especially not that of a vampire.

Once Eric had finished observing every inch of the room, trying to get a taste of Sookie, Sarah decided, he turned to face her.

"In case I didn't make it clear earlier, you are never to use your 'talent' on me." His voice was sharp, telling her that this point wasn't up for negotiation.

"I can't promise that," she said hesitantly, "but I don't like using it without reason. Don't give me reason, and I won't do it."

It wasn't what he wanted to hear, she knew, but that was as much as she could give him. If she promised him that she wouldn't, she'd feel obligated to keep it. And if push came to shove, and by the end of the week she wanted to leave, she would need it to slip out of his grasp.

"That's not good enough," he said, calmly and decisively. "I need your word."

She sighed. She couldn't give him that, no matter how much he asked it of her. "That's not going to happen. I won't make you do anything if you don't push me to my limit."

"Here's where we reach an impasse," he told her, walking forward towards the bed. His hands were clasped behind his back, as though this was a business meeting, not an impromptu house call with Sarah in bed. "Because that's what I want in return for protecting you - I _want _to push you to your limits. I want to see how far this little gift of your's goes."

Before she could even open her mouth to protest, he spoke again. "You're going to work for me when I need you to. I already have Sookie's help when it comes to matters of truth-" At this she frowned, completely lost. "- but I'm going to use for insurance, if you will. If someone in my area will not do as I ask, you're going to make them do it. Therefore, Sookie is happy since I don't kill anyone, but I still get what I want."

She couldn't hold her tongue anymore. "I told you, it only works on some vampires. It didn't work on Godric, and it hasn't worked on others. Besides, I'm not going to let you experiment with me," she spat, angered that he would even think that she would simply acquiesce to his wants. "Stan already tried, and it wears me out and then I can't do it at all. Not even on humans."

She shook her head as she remembered when Stan had come up with the idea of exploiting her. Godric had been away on business, and he had asked Sarah to stay at his nest while he was away so that she would be safe. One evening, Stan had gotten into an argument with another vampire. In a nest, the vampires tended to become hostile when around others for too long. Sarah had witnessed many vampire arguments and the resulting fights before, and it wasn't something she had wanted to see that evening. As she'd tried to slip out of the room unnoticed, Stan had seen her and decided that he wanted to use her. He had pinned her up against the wall along with the other vampire in the argument, and told her that she needed to make him leave the nest. He reasoned that he would get into trouble if he killed him, and he couldn't bear to look at the red-headed vampire any longer. Sarah had protested, of course, not believing that Stan would hurt her. His grasp on her shoulder wasn't even enough to make her uncomfortable. When he'd heard her refusal, however, he'd started shouting, threatening her with her family's lives if she didn't do it. She couldn't even make him let her go, since Stan was one of the three vampires she'd met who she couldn't 'persuade'. Worried that he would, indeed, go after her family, she reluctantly turned to the vampire at the side of her and told him to leave and not return. Of course, he had simply walked out of the house never to be seen again. After that, after that second of weakness, Stan had started pushing her further, making her persuade everything that came her way. Trying to see if she could persuade someone so much that they didn't even realize that it came from her - make them think it was their idea to do that. Seeing if she could actually 'glamour' people - erase memories, change someone's way of life.

It had made her a wreck.

When Godric had returned, he'd been angry at Stan for "not knowing better", but he couldn't do anything about it since Sarah had "agreed willingly," as Stan had put it. Sarah, who was naïve and kind-hearted back then, was just too pleased about Godric's return to bother arguing. Besides, what good would it do? Stan would only be pissed off, and, if he chose (and she thought he might've), go after her mother and father. The whole point of doing the persuasion was to protect them. And she couldn't ask Godric to protect them, also. He was already going out of his way to ensure the Fellowship didn't attack her.

"I'm not Stan," he said, as though that was the most obvious thing in the world.

She agreed with him to an extent. Stan was vile and uncivilised - all about taking and not giving anything in return (except to Godric, when required). Eric, while still all about taking, seemed to be fairer than Stan. She knew, on some level, that he wouldn't force her to do something to the point of exhaustion. She thought he'd be a gentle pusher, not a forceful one like Stan had been.

"You're not," she agreed cautiously, "but that doesn't really matter. I still get worn out when I use it too often on vampires."

"But not on humans?" He quizzed, clearly interested in how she worked.

"Humans are fine; I don't object to using it on human people, just as long as it's not all day every day. Vampires are more complex - your brain…" She paused, trying to think of a correct phrasing. She didn't want to anger him or offend him. "… well, your brain's dead. You have no kind of innate morals, only what you've retained from your human life. But you still have your free will. When I "persuade" humans, their brain is sort of under my control, only for a few moments. It's easy to…manipulate, if you will, their morals and views to make them think that what I want them to do is right on all accounts. With vampires… it's more complex. It's not _that _part of you that I'm manipulating… I have to make you choose to do something. It's a lot harder to do, as I'm sure you can imagine. I have to work a lot more to do it."

She decided to leave out the part about it working better when she was under pressure. When Eric had been throttling her in his office, her brain had been working much faster, thus making it easier to latch onto his free will.

Eric paused, processing this information. He had simply assumed that humans and vampires would be just as easy for her to manipulate. Then again, he thought, he couldn't glamour vampires. He'd tried at one point with Pam, but neither of them could. He decided that Sarah must've been very talented to be able to do something that even he, a thousand year old vampire, could not even dream of doing.

He found that a small part of him _envied _her.

But he needed to know more. He found this whole idea of humans having something extra to them very fascinating, indeed. Sookie, as interesting as she may have been, was not forthcoming in terms of describing her talent. She knew nothing. Sarah, on the other hand, had seemingly taken the initiative to find out how it all worked. He assumed that Godric had been a part of that.

"Tell me more," he demanded, and she simply rolled her eyes, used to the abrupt tone of his voice already. "How does it feel when you unleash your talent?"

She let out a big breath of air before frowning. "Godric and I discussed it a lot. He described glamour to me, and it sounds a lot like that. With humans, I just sort of turn on a switch in my head and I become much more alluring and captivating. That's the first part of it - their brain tells them to give me attention. Then I latch onto the part of them that influences their actions. I don't rift through their heads or anything looking for a particular part of the brain… it's just…there." She shrugged wildly, not really knowing how to describe it. From a young age, it had been innate to her. It had caused a lot of problems at first, since the persuasion lasted until that person died. If she told someone on the playground to go away, they had never come anywhere near her again. If she told someone to shut up, they would not open their mouths until she told them to talk again.

She had had a horrible childhood, one she didn't like remembering. Even Godric had understood that it was a sensitive topic for her, and they didn't really breach it. She'd never discussed it with anyone.

"So you simply gain their trust, and influence their decisions?" Eric asked.

She nodded. "I can't describe it any better than that. It just comes to me."

Thankfully, Eric seemed to understand. He nodded, before walking closer to her and sitting on the edge of the bed. Uncomfortable with his closeness, she shifted away towards the headboard.

This only seemed to amuse him, and he had the audacity to follow her, which earned him a glare.

"I won't bite," he told her huskily, which was a voice she'd never heard him use before. She had heard him angry, she had heard him concerned and she had heard him when dealing with business. For a moment there, she'd forgotten that he was Eric Northman - woman extraordinaire. Of course he had a voice like that, she chastised.

Still, she couldn't help her reaction of swallowing suddenly, feeling her throat go dry.

Shaking herself out of her momentary stupor, she smiled sweetly. "I wouldn't let you."

She thought he'd be angry again at the idea of her "glamouring" him, but to her shock, he snickered.

"Sarah, if I ever chose to bite you, believe me…" And then, as she blinked, he was gone. But then she heard his voice murmur in her ear, "… you'd be begging for it."

Before could even think about being stunned or offended or pissed off, he was gone.

* * *

Sarah had not seen the sun for two days. For this reason, she wasn't even slightly annoyed when it streamed unapologetically through her window at ridiculous-o'-clock in the morning. She simply grinned slightly, luxuriating in the feel of it on her skin once more, and stretched. The covers soft material provided a warmth and security that Sarah had not felt in some time. Sookie, it seemed simply radiated kindness and tenderness.

This would be a new day, she decided. It was time to get back to being her old self - determined, strong, ruthless yet carefree. The last one, she admitted to herself, would be more difficult since she was being searched for by people who were trying to kill her. That, and the fact that she was still haunted by the memory of Godric, the grief of which still followed her everywhere like a terrifying shadow.

But she would try her best.

Following this belief, she decided to get back into the habit of exercise. It used to play a large role in her life since it was her way of de-stressing, and recently, she figured that she'd had enough stress in her life to justify more exercise. And really, she reasoned, she had more free time on her hands.

So she slid out of bed - not quite yet at the "hopping stage - and tried to re-enact few yoga positions she could remember from her class in Dallas. She was nowhere near as flexible as she had been, she noted to her displeasure, but she was still quite lithe, which made her happy. She was also thankful that she'd gotten changed last night after Eric's impromptu visit into some looser garments, otherwise the yoga would have been difficult.

After twenty minutes of half-moon stretches and downward-facing dogs, followed by a calming shower, she opened her door to the wonderful smell of coffee. Over the last few days, she had been sorely missing caffeine. She usually got through ten cups of coffee a day, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on her day, but it had been amiss since she came to Shreveport.

The smell putting a bit more pep in her step, she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to see Sookie at the table reading a magazine.

"Mornin'," the bubbly blonde chirped.

"Hey," Sarah rasped, annoyed that her voice was still throaty from the other night.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked, taking a sip. When Sarah gestured to the coffee pot on the side, Sookie nodded. Pouring herself a cup, her mouth already watering from the prospect of caffeine, she shrugged. "Fine, thanks." It was one of the biggest lies she'd ever told. After the first horrendous dream and Eric's visit, she'd fallen asleep again only to dream the same thing. She thought that it was fair to say that she'd gotten only a few hours sleep the night before, hence why she didn't look particularly well-rested.

Sookie seemed to miss her appearance entirely, or chose to, and grinned. "Great!"

The first sip was heavenly. So much so that it warranted her eyes shutting in ecstasy. Coffee was her drug, the one thing that she couldn't live without.

Sookie seemed to notice the look of sheer pleasure on her face. "Caffeine addicted?" Her smile was knowing, and her voice made Sarah feel like she could trust Sookie with her life. Not that she ever would.

"One of the outcomes of working long hours," she admitted with a small smile.

"What do you do?"

"I work in law," she told her, trying not to get into it too much. Whenever people found out what she did, they asked all sorts of questions, or hurled a lot of judgements at her. While she knew that Sookie wouldn't pass judgement, she didn't really want to spend the better part of the morning discussing her work when she had so much to catch up on.

"You're a lawyer?" Sookie asked, looking surprised. Sarah, thankfully, was used to the look of shock on peoples' faces when they found out that someone who didn't look completely unfortunate worked in law. The stereotype of boring and ugly reared it's ugly head a lot, Sarah had found. Especially in small towns like Bon Temps seemed to be.

"Not your usual sort," she answered hesitantly. When Sookie didn't reply and only gazed at Sarah as though she was going to continue speaking, Sarah sighed slightly. "I work in vampire law. Basically, vampires come to me if a human is involved in a case and they need a representative. If it's against another vampire - which it usually is - then the political side of it is dealt with at another kind of court."

"The Magistrate…" Sookie murmured, much to Sarah's shock.

"You know?"

Sookie nodded. "I've never been to one or anything-" _No human ever has that lived to tell about it,_ Sarah thought, "- but Eric dragged Bill to one about a month ago. Bill killed another vampire to save me."

"They would go there for that. You weren't directly involved, so it wouldn't come to me, or someone like me," Sarah agreed, and took another sip of her coffee.

Sookie frowned, looking as though she was offended. "The vampire Bill staked was going to _kill _me."

Of course it was a big deal to Sookie. To humans, almost getting killed was the worst thing that could happen to them. It was the ultimate crime. In the vampire world, on the other hand, human lives were irrelevant. If one died, it didn't matter in vampire law. In terms of human law and vampire-human relations, it mattered since it was now illegal for vampires to kill a human. Usually, though, vampires were smart and efficient enough to hide the murder, meaning that they mostly got away with what they did. Evidently, though, some didn't since Sarah had a job.

"But it was Bill, a _vampire_, who actually killed the other vampire. In the human world, that isn't illegal. In the vampire world, that's the worst thing someone could do. Actually, killing a vampire on behalf of a human is the worst thing a vampire could do. Which Bill did." She frowned. Sookie's story didn't add up. "Wait, what did they do to him? I thought the punishment for that was coffined and silvered for decades?"

Sookie paused, deciding whether or not it was her place to say these things. She eventually reasoned that since Sarah would be staying with her indefinitely, then she should get everything out in the open. "He had to make a child. Jessica. She's only a kid, too."

Sarah scoffed as she drank another gulp of coffee. "That sounds like The Magister."

"You know him?" Sookie asked, like she didn't believe it. Then again, Sarah had just said that vampire court and human court had nothing to do with one another.

Sarah had represented The Magister's - whose name was Magnus - child in a human court, once. She had been surprised that he would even consider turning up at the court - with a human defence - but he had told her that his child had wanted to do it the legal way that he had been brought up (as a human) with. The child in question - Joseph, a young Mexican with a head of angelic curls - had accidentally killed a young girl during his first month of being a vampire and her parents were brave enough to take him on in a court of human law. Usually Sarah wouldn't have taken on a case like that, since she had scruples, but when she met Joseph, she had been surprised to see that he was a wreck. He seemed genuinely distraught that he'd killed the girl, and Sarah felt so bad that she caved and told Magnus that she'd defend him. It had lost her credibility amongst some of her superiors, but she felt that her defence was justified.

They didn't plead non-guilty, since it was obvious that Joseph was, indeed, guilty. They did, however, try to reduce the sentence by proving that it was accidental. Unfortunately, they had lost their case, mainly, Sarah thought, because the judge was a woman with young children of her own who sympathised greatly with their opponent. It was the only case Sarah had ever lost.

Still, Joseph had thanked Sarah profusely for even taking him on, and Magnus had shown a small amount of civility towards her, also, despite the fact that they lost. He only spoke a few words to her at the time, but when she was visiting Joseph when he was in a vampire-secure prison, they had run into each other once again. He had stiffly said hello, and they lapsed into lawyer-speak, about how she was still trying to get Joseph early parole. He had joked to her - or at least she'd _thought _it was a joke - that he would think up some way to reduce the sentence, flashing a small bit of fang to her that had startled Sarah. He then proceeded to tell her a few of the things he could do, each one more creative than the next.

Thus, Sarah could understand why The Magister would choose the creative idea of making a new vampire for the one that had been destroyed - it seemed to be in his nature to be creative.

Still, Sarah didn't want to get into the story of Magnus, so she simply replied, "Sort of." She then walked over to the sink, rinsed her cup, and turned back around to face Sookie. "I'm going to do some work upstairs, since I'm really behind. My colleague is taking on my cases, but I'm emailing her information about what to use in defence. I'll be upstairs if you need me."

She then walked out before Sookie could ask her more questions that Sarah didn't want to answer at that moment in time.

Sarah's email was flooded with messages from Vanessa - her colleague - asking her all about the newest case of hers: a vampire named Rebecca had been accused of the identity fraud of a human. Rebecca swore that she was innocent, and had given extensive proof. Sarah thought it was an easy case, but Vanessa, it seemed, who was still new to the industry, was worried about losing a case as straightforward as that.

Sarah replied as concisely and a simply as she could, trying to make Vanessa feel more comfortable with taking over the cases. Sarah knew that she was perfectly capable of doing it, so she didn't worry too much.

The rest of her day was spent indoors, the sunlight outside teasing her. She could see Sookie laid on the front lawn sunbathing, which had only succeeded in tempting her further to forget work and grab a swimsuit. She simply sighed heavily when she realised that her neglect of her work had cost her this beautiful day.

When the sun started to go down, Sookie came upstairs and knocked on the door.

"I have work tonight, so I can't take you to Fangtasia. Are you all right driving yourself? To get out of Bon Temps, you just follow the main road that Merlotte's is on, and then-"

Sarah interrupted her before Sookie talked for the next ten minutes, telling Sarah something she already knew. "I know how to get there. And of course I don't mind driving myself. I didn't expect you to anyway - you're kind enough taking me in, you don't have to be my chauffeur, too."

Sookie smiled sweetly, and said her goodbyes to Sarah, who shut down her laptop so that she could get ready.

Not really worried about looking presentable, she had a quick shower, let her hair dry naturally before straightening it into its usual poker-straight look. She dressed in jeans and a top that showed more skin that a t-shirt would, but not more than a dress would. All in all, Sarah looked comfortable.

She would need it, she thought, if she was going to spend all night with Eric-"you'll be begging for it"-Northman.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! :)  
I apologise for any typos. I could really do with a beta for this, since I just kind of write it, re-read it, and post. I'm pretty positive that things slip through.**

**I would really appreciate feedback for this chapter, because I'm _slightly_ nervous about it - was the law stuff too complicated? How did you find the Sarah/Eric encounter? Please let me know...**


	7. Faces In Disguise, Not A Trace Of Desire

Sarah found that she had, indeed, been correct in assuming that Fangtasia got incredibly busy on the weekends. As she entered the parking lot only to find that there were hardly any spaces (she was forced to park in the employee's parking, but she figured that Eric wouldn't mind), she was quite simply in awe at the amount of people queueing to get into the building. She'd seen popular clubs and bars in Dallas, and had - at a time - been one of the girls standing in the freezing cold (or unrelenting humidity, depending on the time of year) only to get in and drink a mediocre cocktail and be groped by sweaty strangers. This was something entirely different. This wasn't just for the privellege of saying "Oh, I've been there," as though it was nothing - no, this was something far more particular. Every single person in the queue was wanting _death_. Not for themselves, perhaps, but by standing in line they expected to be entertained by the idea and thought of death, if only for one night.

Locking the doors, she walked around to the front of the building feeling underdressed. But then, she thought, she wasn't there to dance with death, she was there to report back to Eric. So he could look after her. Quickly, the feeling of being underdressed went away, and Sarah decided that she didn't care if people were whispering about her choice of attire - she was the one who got to spend the evening with Eric Northman (who they were all surely there to see). Of course, the didn't have to know that they shared a mutual dislike of one another.

Pam was stood on the door looking partly as though she'd won a jackpot with all the scantily clad women surrounding her, and part like she was dying (pun intended) inside at being forced to check ID. She barely glanced at Sarah as she let her through since she was far more interested in flirting with a small redhead with a large chest.

Instead of her previous time in Fangtasia, Sarah didn't hesitate as she strode through the bar on her way to the employees door.

It was a shriek that stopped her. A woman of around the same age as her was gasping for air and staring at the left side of the room. Curious, Sarah followed her eyeline. Sat on a podium was Eric, looking very high and mighty. Sarah, knowing that in this world power was everything, only smirked and folded her arms as she looked at him. He, however, did not see this since he wasn't looking at her. He was very aptly staring at some innocent looking blonde who resembled Sookie, of course. When she saw the intense eye-fucking taking place in front of the whole bar, Sarah couldn't help but scoff and grin a little. This small action, lost to all ears in the loud music, caused Eric's eyes to snap to her.

He saw her somewhat impressed smirk, her raised eyebrow and her folded arms, and in return, sensing that she had been watching him, smirked back. She looked to and from the blonde girl, mouthed "Sookie Stackhouse" at him and then shook her head. When he frowned, confused, she made a gesture to her own chest, trying to tell him that this blonde's breasts would never compare with Sookie's. In response, she was surprised to see - but not hear - him laugh; a proper laugh, that scared the blonde who was trying to regain his attentions.

She then realised what she was doing - she was acting as though she _liked _him. Horrified, and determined to prove herself wrong, she immediately looked away from the enchanting sight of Eric Northman and walked through the door she was stood at and into his office, flopping down on his couch.

She was expecting ten minutes to compose herself while Eric flirted some more with the blonde, but was disappointed - Eric followed behind her not thirty seconds after. His eyes still held the sparkle from his earlier laughter, but his face was back to its impassive expression.

"Last night we didn't come to any arrangement as to what I would get in return. Since you are so much against persuading people, I have decided to be lenient and only practice with you. Teach you, if you will." Eric spoke as though he was doing her the largest favor.

She couldn't help the skeptical snort that emitted from her. "Teach me? What do you know?" It was only after she'd spoken the words that she realised that he _did _know - he had to learn to glamour people when he was first turned. Her realisation came with an apologetic eye roll, that he thankfully understood. "What do you mean, teach me?"

"Since I have absolutely no desire to protect you for the rest of your life, you need to be prepared to protect yourself. Hopefully, the quicker you learn to maximise your talent, the quicker you will exit my life."

_At least we both agree on that point_, Sarah thought.

"Therefore, every night for however long it takes, we will practice using your ability. You will not be using it to make people do things they would not normally do, since you vehemently object to that." He paused, looking at the door. "We will begin tonight. I have a vampire wishing to pledge allegiance to my area arriving shortly. You shall practice on her. But for now...Chow."

Sarah would have been confused, had an Oriental vampire not walked through the door.

"Eric, I told you-"

He interrupted her. "You told me that you will not manipulate humans or vampires. I am not asking you to manipulate them - I am telling you to practice with them. Now," he continued, like Sarah wasn't getting more and more angry by the second. "Make Chow pick up this pen."

Infuriated, she chose to do something that would hopefully prove a point, since her stating it loud and clear was doing absolutely nothing. "Chow, please will you pick up the pen on the table?"

Confused as to what was going on, Chow hesitantly moved towards the pen, and picked it up, shrugging. "Was this supposed to do something?"

Before Eric could reply, no doubt to reprimand her, she nodded. "Yes. It was supposed to show Eric that I'm not a puppet." She turned to face the Viking in question. "Did it?"

Sarah could tell that Eric was not impressed. She reckoned that he was so used to people obeying his every order, following his every whim that he had forgotten what it was like to have people disobey him. She thought that that must've been why he was so taken with Sookie - she didn't seem like the kind of woman to follow his orders. With Sookie, Sarah decided, Eric must've found it endearing and interesting. In Sarah - disobeying no longer a novelty - it was clearly aggravating.

"Not in the slightest," he scowled, gritting his teeth. "It only proved you to be incompetent."

She couldn't help it - her mouth fell open in pure shock. He thought her imcompetent? For not doing what he wanted her to? For following her morals? For not wanting to play God?

Angered, she stood up and moved towards him. She meant it to be threatening, and became even more annoyed when he didn't even blink. She wished then that she could have been a strong vampire, able to instill fear into Eric Northman, rather than a meek little human, who could never hurt someone like him.

"I don't want to be experimented on!" She told him firmly, her voice getting louder and more hysterical as she continued. "I'm not a puppet for you to play with! Godric told me to come here; I understand that you need something in return, but for now can't you just do this one thing for Godric? Besides, how do I know that you're going to do your job well? For all I know, I could be kidnapped and killed tomorrow, meaning that I would owe you _nothing_."

To a casual observer, Eric was not even slightly perplexed but since Sarah was looking for it, she noticed the way his eyes grew harder as his temper became more concentrated.

"Are you implying that I cannot safeguard a _human_?" He spat the term like it was a curse; to him it was. He was amazed that she'd be brave enough to suggest that he couldn't do something so simple that Godric wanted.

She rolled her eyes, annoyed at his immediate defences springing up. Sometimes it was like dealing with a child - of course she hadn't meant to imply that he couldn't look after her. She'd just been using it as a hypothetical situation to support her argument. Was he so blinded by his dislike of her that he couldn't see that? Or was this just centuries of defence mechanisms?

Sarah decided that she didn't care, and she didn't want to stick around if he was going to be like that. She sighed. "You know that I wasn't. If you're going to continue being stubborn and uncompromising, then I'm going."

Just as she was leaving, she heard him growl in a temper similar to hers, "If you leave, I will find something worse."

She turned to face him and smiled sweetly. "And I will disregard it, I'm sure."

She walked out of his office, half expecing him to follow her. A small part of her recognized that she rather enjoyed their banter, since it kept her on her toes for her job while she was away. She also realised that this small part of her was somewhat disappointed that he didn't follow her. She quickly dismissed this, regarding it frivolous and irrational, and continued walking through the bar to the exit.

The warm, yet breezy, air helped bring her back to reality. The reality where she and Northman were both glad at her departure, where she couldn't care less whether he followed her or not. Truthfully, she was too irritated to deal with him. She was glad he wouldn't follow her, since she knew that he would surely combat her argument with an even better one, what with him being one thousand years her senior. No, she agreed, she needed to re-group, and think up something that could be done about repaying him. Something that would be agreeable to them both...

She walked slowly to her car, not listening or taking in her surroundings, until a familiar haystack of black hair popped up in front of her.

"Ms Williams! Hey!"

This was her new client, Rebecca. She was a young vampire - physically, she looked to be about twenty, but in actuality it had been thirty years since her birth. At ten years, she was a young vampire which was annoying to older vampires, but Sarah thought it was easier to deal with younger vampires. They seemed to retain their youth - especially the ones who were turned young - which meant that they were up to date on current affairs, current technology and current language. It made dealing with them that much easier.

Rebecca was attractive; at least she was in Sarah's opinion. She had olive skin, and very dark hair that looked black at night (which was the only time she got to see her, of course). Her hair was her centre piece, if you will. It always looked a mess, but when Sarah had asked about it one evening when Rebecca had decided to "celebrate" Sarah's taking her on with a few bottles of Pinot Grigio and A-, Rebecca had told her that it was supposed to. She had said, "it's called Peacocking. People have something crazy about themselves - either what they look like, or what they wear - and it draws attention to them. Seriously, it's great for pulling guys." Sarah had laughed and nodded at the time, despite the fact that she hadn't understood why anyone would want to draw in the opposite sex - or the same sex, depending on the person - by looking as though they'd had a fight with a bush and had lost.

Tonight, Rebecca had not only "peacocked" her hair, she had also chosen to wear a skimpy black dress with no straps, that emphasised her chest and her long legs. On the plus side - well, plus for Rebecca - it was gaining her a lot of attention from the queue outside. There were several wolf-whistles coming from the group of people, and hollers from both men and women.

"Evening, Rebecca," Sarah smiled, actually quite glad to see a familar face.

"What are you doing here? I didn't know you liked to mix with vamps socially." She phrased it as a question, fluffing her hair up slightly in Sarah's car window.

Sarah tried to hide her wince at the idea of being there for pleasure. "I don't. I'm here for business."

At this, Rebecca's eyes lit up. "Which means you've not been having fun?"

Sarah tried to supress her snort - really, she did. Still, it escaped her. Having fun? With Northman? Impossible.

Rebecca grinned widely at Sarah's response, her evening suddenly becoming that much more interesting. She really liked Sarah - she was smart, to the point, and a lot of fun to be with when she'd been drinking wine. She'd only met her three times to discuss her case, but she'd still been disheartened when Vanessa - Sarah's colleague - had met with her in place of Sarah who had "taken an extended holiday."

"Great!" She enthused. "You can start with me!"

Before Sarah could even register what that meant, Rebecca had grabbed her hand and had started pulling her towards the queue. It seemed that she had some friends who had been saving her a place, and she cut into the queue with them. Her friends were mostly vampires - young, like Rebecca - all of whom were 'peacocking'. One man had a trilby hat with a feather sticking out of it, and one woman wore face paint with a diamond around her eye. Sarah smiled hesitantly at them, and they all looked her up and down as though they wouldn't have minded tearing into her right that second.

Sarah turned to face Rebecca, frowning in discomfort. "Really, Becca, I was just about to leave. It's been a long d-"

"Nonsense!" Rebecca exclaimed, still grasping onto Sarah's hand. Rebecca was secretly showing Sarah off to her friends, who had found it hard to believe that a human - and one that smelt like Sarah - had chosen to become a vampire lawyer. So when Rebecca had seen Sarah strolling out the bar in her own daze, she had quickly made the decision to introduce Sarah to them, if only to prove that she had found a human worth meeting. In truth, her friends were snobs. They thought humans to be inadequate and annoying, despite the fact that they had been one a few years ago. Thus, when Rebecca had met Sarah - an attractive human with a certain something mysterious about her - she had chosen to befriend her in the hopes that she had found something worth finding. "This is a thank you for today! Vanessa won the case! But I know you told her what to say."

Sarah frowned. "The case was today?" She had been sure that the case had been next week, hence the reason why her email to Vanessa had been a languid reply. _There was no rush_, she had told herself. She could've slapped herself right then - Vanessa must've been worried.

"Yep! This afternoon!" Rebecca smiled. "She did great. Well, you did great..."

Sarah shook her head, a small smile making its way to her mouth. "No, I only emailed her this afternoon. You would've been in session." Her grin was now a full blown dazzling smile. "She did it all herself." She was... _proud_.

Rebecca frowned, slightly put out that she had not succeeded in proving to her friends how smart and tactful Sarah was. "Oh. Well, you taught her well, then. We can still celebrate!"

This brought Sarah down off her high. She didn't want to go back in there.

"Rebecca, please, I-"

But they had reached the front of the queue. Pam gave Sarah a funny look and then a smirk. "Couldn't stay away, huh?"

Sarah shot her a glare, trying to think of reasons why she should go. Her mind was not co-operating - all she could think of were lame excuses like, "My dog's ill." But Sarah had never had a dog, and Rebecca would be able to smell this.

Rebecca was grabbing her hand again, pulling her back into the music. Back to Eric Northman.

Sarah sighed. She supposed her grand exit would be wasted after all.

* * *

**Merry Christmas, everyone! I'm sorry this is not as long as the others, but it was more of a filler chapter. Also, my laptop decided to die last week, meaning that I couldn't write the next chapter. Therefore, this was written on a new computer (Santa's so generous) without Word. This means that none of it has been spell checked. So I apologise if anything has slipped through.**

**I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas/Boxing Day, and - in case I don't post again before New Year - a fantastic New Year's Eve. Plus a brilliant 2011. :)**


	8. Don't Stand Too Close Without Apologies

"What are you having?" Rebecca tossed her long hair as she turned her head to look over her shoulder at Sarah, who was standing awkwardly behind her at the bar.

Sarah cleared her throat slightly, and asked for a small glass of wine. Rebecca arched an eyebrow at her and laughed.

"Are you trying to relive our last night out?"

Sarah smiled slightly, remembering how much fun they'd had the last time they'd been out. Both Sarah and Vanessa had gotten incredibly drunk, which had made for an interesting night out. Rebecca had obviously been sober, but she'd still had fun watching the two girls stumble around each other. It had made Rebecca feel human once more. Still, Sarah shook her head at Rebecca and told her that she was only having one glass and then she was leaving. Rebecca pulled a face, but agreed nonetheless, happy that she'd even persuaded Sarah to stay.

Rebecca turned back to the bar, ordering A- blood for her and her friends and Sarah's wine.

To say that Sarah felt uncomfortable would be an understatement. Not only did she feel like the odd one out - the only one in the small circle who was alive - but she also kept glancing around her, making sure a certain blonde vampire had stayed in his office. She felt like a criminal, entering somewhere she really shouldn't enter. It put her on edge, making her shoulders rise towards her ears every time someone brushed past her and making her glance at the door to his office every five seconds.

Thankfully, no one seemed to notice.

"So, um," Sarah started, very ineloquently. She coughed again, deciding to stop being whimpy and start being friendlier to Rebecca. "What are you here for - business or pleasure?"

"A bit of both, really," she replied, taking a small sip of blood. Truthfully, Rebecca was in the mood for something more...alive. Her attempt at mainstreaming had backfired when she'd been accused of identity fraud - she really wasn't guilty - so she was feeling as though she owed it to herself to be slightly rebellious. Perhaps, she wondered, Sarah wouldn't be opposed to granting her permission to a small bite. Rebecca's mouth began to water at the prospect, her fangs threatening to make an appearance. She needed to distract herself quickly, so she continued to speak. "I've decided that I need a change of scenery. I'm moving here - to Shreveport, I mean - from Dallas. I grew up there and I really need a change, y'know? So I'm here because I need to check in with my new Sheriff, and I also wanted to check this place out, since it's probably where I'll find most of my meals."

The callousness of what she was saying and the factual tone of her voice would have made Sarah flinch had she not been used to it. She did, however, wince when what the woman had said registered.

"You're here to meet with the Sheriff?"

Eric's earlier words flooded back to her - _" I have a vampire wishing to pledge alliegence to my area coming shortly. You shall practice on her."_

Rebecca was that vampire.

Eric had wanted Sarah to practice on her _client_.

Rebecca had a meeting with him shortly.

Sarah was still there.

She had to leave.

She quickly drunk the rest of her drink, surprising Rebecca into a stunned silence, and grinned. "I'm so sorry, Rebecca, but I really have to be going. I have a busy day tomorrow. Thank you very much for the drink. If you ever need any more legal council, you're more than welcome to return to me. Thank you again, and good night."

She turned to leave, fully meaning to actually succeed this time, but Rebecca appeared in front of her using her enhanced speed. She had a forlorn expression on her face. Wounded, even, like a puppy who had been left for the first time since its owners got him. Sarah, however, had lost any compassion she once had, and only rolled her eyes and huffed. She really needed to leave, etiquette be damned.

"You're leaving already?" Rebecca questioned, sounding genuinely offended.

"It's been a long day, I really need to be getting home. My roomate will be worried."

Sookie, Sarah thought, was probably getting it on with Bill in her absence, not giving a damn where Sarah was. But Rebecca didn't know that. And Sarah found no reason to inform her.

Rebecca only scoffed. "You're a big girl, Sarah. They'll understand if you're half an hour late."

In her mind, Sarah was getting fed up with the silly dance they were doing. Sarah _was _a big girl, which meant that she could choose to go home when she wanted to. Why couldn't Rebecca just let her go? Surely her company wasn't _that _coveted? A brief thought flickered through her head - she could always make Rebecca let her leave.

No, she reprimanded herself. She was shocked that she would even think that. She wouldn't try to persuade vampires ever again if she could help it.

Sarah sighed impatiently. "I'm sorry, Rebecca."

This time as she spun around to leave, something else got in her way. A vampire. And it wasn't Rebecca.

She didn't even need to look up to see who it was. "_Shit_."

...

That was how Sarah ended up being locked in an office with Rebecca and Eric. The Viking had smirked, as though Sarah had stayed willingly and had only left initially "for attention". Sarah had glared sufficiently and didn't even try to defend her actions. She _had _left, and she hoped that on some level, he knew that.

Knew it, yet still teased her about being pulled back in.

"I knew you couldn't stay away for long," he announced cockily as the three of them walked into his office, Rebecca frowning in confusion as to why Sarah was with them. At first, she'd thought that there might've been something between the pair - Eric and Sarah - since the sexual tension was definately there. Sarah's death glares that she was shooting Rebecca's new Sheriff told her otherwise. She decided that while the tension might've been there, dislike was far more prominent.

Northman pointed Rebecca towards a seat, which she quickly sat down on. If there was one thing that her friends had told her, it was to succeed in not pissing Eric Northman off. She may have been a young vampire, and therefore slightly cocky from her newfound immortality, but she wasn't stupid - this man had millenia on her, and was a natural fighter as a human. No, she didn't want to anger Eric Northman. Ever.

Sarah, on the other hand, didn't seem to have received the memo. When Eric invited her to sit on the couch, she glared at him and snapped that she'd rather stand. When he'd called in a bartender to get Rebecca a blood and offered Sarah a drink, she'd ignored him completely, only staring at the door wistfully. Rebecca expected Northman to tell the human to leave, maybe even be violent towards her. She was openly surprised when he ignored her rudeness, as though he expected it. Clearly, the two had a colorful story behind their... relationship.

"You're new to the area," Eric announced, sitting down on a comfortable looking chair across from Rebecca. She nodded, and they both launched into vampire speak, neither glancing at the human as she stood in the corner.

Sarah watched with veiled interest as the two vampires got down to business. When she'd been residing with Godric, she'd never been present with much of his work since he'd wanted to keep his business and his personal life separate. In short, he didn't want her to be involved. He'd explained that he thought deemed it too dangerous for her to be that deep in his vampiric world. When she'd argued that she was already invested in it because of her job, he'd gently explained that she didn't have a voice in his world. She wasn't too proud to admit that she'd been hurt by that at first. She'd had the Magister come to her for help before... _of course _she had a voice. However, when he'd elaborated and described the way their world worked, she'd understood that she really didn't have much of a say in vampire politics. Human-vampire politics, yes... but not vampire law. Sarah had accepted this fact, and she'd not complained at all when Godric had dismissed her from his presence whenever business cropped up. But now, as she watched and listened to the two vampires talk about rules for living in Area 5, she was _very _interested. Suddenly, the prospect of being with Eric every night looked much more appealing. She could listen in on every business meeting he had. He wasn't concerned about her being too deep in his world. He didn't care about her, beyond her friendship with his Maker. If she listened in enough, took everything in, it could really help her career. She would not only know how human politics worked, but she could cross-reference it with how the vampire world worked. This would enable her to make the most out of every case she had. Yes, she decided. It would help _enormously_.

For the next half an hour she listened. She pretended to be gazing at the door with rapt interest, but really she was hanging on every word that passed between them. When their conversation eventually began to wind down, she risked looking at them. Both were in the same positions they had been when she'd last looked, only the both of them had gradually slumped down in their seats slightly, and were now looking quite comfortable.

"So tell me," Eric began, looking over at Sarah. She wanted to glare at him again, just to show him that she was still mad, but she was still reeling with excitement from their conversation. Eric noticed a sparkle in her eye that he thought seemed childlike, but ignored it as he continued to speak. "How do you know Sarah?"

Sarah froze. _Damn_, she thought. She had wanted him to suffer a little longer, not knowing what she did but not wanting to sound interested and ask. She hoped in vain that Rebecca would give a vague answer, but of course, she didn't. Eric Northman, woman-extraordinaire was talking to her, no longer simply for business. He had turned on his charming smirk, his body language had changed, and he was going to get her to talk without even thinking about it. It was what he was good at.

True to form, Rebecca smiled towards Sarah. "Her firm just won a case for me. Some human had accused me of identity fraud and took me to court. Sarah pulled me out of the situation." She threw Sarah a wink at this, which only made Sarah's eyes harden with irritation. If it wasn't for Rebecca, Sarah would have been back at Sookie's by now, and Eric would still have to hold his tongue whenever her career was mentioned.

Unwillingly, Sarah looked over to Eric. He looked genuinely surprised at her choice in career. He felt her eyes on him and looked right back at her. "Really?" He asked, his voice sounding smug.

This time, before Rebecca could make a big deal out of it, Sarah answered in her place. "It was actually my co-worker, Vanessa, who fought for Rebecca. I really had nothing to do with it."

Rebecca snorted, drawing the attention of the room back to her. "Well, it was you who took me on. And you mentored Vanessa, so really it was you who won the case."

Sarah bit her lip to prevent her snapping something along the lines of, _"Why the hell are you so invested in making me sound like a superhero?"_

Instead, she settled for a strained, "Hardly."

Eric noticed Sarah's sudden shift in emotion. He wanted to question her about her career, figure out why she chose to become what sounded like a vampire lawyer and what that entailed, but he didn't want to do it with an audience. A part of him rather enjoyed their banter - Pam was the only person who matched him insult-for-insult - but he didn't want an audience. He needed to look controlling in front of his subjects. He needed Rebecca to leave.

"Thank you for checking in," he said, turning to face Rebecca who had just opened her mouth to retort something back to Sarah. "If I require your services in the future, you will be hearing from me."

Rebecca smiled at him, recognising a dismissal when she saw one. She stood, nodding her head at Northman, and waving at Sarah. "I'll call you," she told the human with a smirk. She then left the room, leaving Sarah alone once more with Eric.

It was silent for thirty-four seconds, Sarah counted. She refused to say anything first since she was still pissed off about being there. She simply wanted to leave and go to sleep. What she'd told Rebecca earlier hadn't been a lie - it _had _been a long day. She really needed a cup of coffee if she was going to be there any longer, but didn't want to relent and ask Eric to order her one from the bar. She was adamant about not speaking before him.

Thankfully, he relented soon enough. His interest was piqued, and he needed to know just how knowledgable Sarah was about his world. "So you're a lawyer?"

She sighed heavily, and walked over to his desk and slumped down in the chair that Rebecca had just been sat on. "_Yes_."

He only smirked. "A vampire lawyer." He phrased it as a statement, not a question. Rebecca's words had given him enough to work on to figure out that Sarah Williams was, indeed, a vampire lawyer.

"_Yes_."

"Explain."

She rolled her eyes, expecting this reaction. After deciding that since the cat was already out of the bag and she had nothing to lose by telling him her story, she sighed. "I originally applied to college for Law, but then vampire came out of the coffin. A lot of colleges wanted to adapt to this, and since a fair few professors came out as vampires, they decided that they could have Vampire Law as a course. I still wanted to study Law - Human Law, that is - but Vampire Law sounded really interesting. I spoke with admissions at Yale - which was where my first choice - and since they were wanting to modernise, I managed to change my application to Law with Vampire Studies. When I left college, I got a job with a law firm in Dallas, which I took since I grew up there. After working there for a few months, we had a vampire come in looking for representation. The VRA had only just been proposed so we didn't really know their rights yet, but by boss assigned him to me since I had 'vampire experience.' I won his case, and my boss assigned me to representing any vampire who came in. We were the first and only firm to accept vampires, so of course they all came to me. My job title eventually changed to representing _just _vampires. Which takes us to where I am now - being in charge of all vampire cases."

She let out a large breath as she finished telling him the story of how she became the youngest person at her law firm to become a director. 'Human-Vampire Relations Director' was her official title, and she wasn't too modest to say that she was incredibly proud of herself for achieving it so quickly. Nobody else in her family had even gone to University, never mind being promoted to one of the top positions in a company within mere months of working there.

Eric remained silent and still as she spoke, his hands tented in front of him as though Sarah was a mystery he was trying to solve. It put her slightly on edge as he stared at her, but she'd gotten used to having vampires stare at her with their unblinking eyes and their unmoving faces. Therefore, she didn't feel too uncomfortable staring back.

"I see," was all Eric said in response.

The silence returned. Sarah's eyes were starting to become heavy as she sat in the chair in the warm office. She really did just want to go home, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to leave until she and Eric had come to an agreement regarding her 'services.'

"Do you use your talent to further your career?" Eric asked, sounding like he already knew the answer.

Since the only people who knew about her talent were her parents - knew, yet refused to fully believe it and therefore simply ignored it - she had never been asked that question before. The thought had never even crossed her mind.

How dare he?

She rose from her chair, now too angry to consider being tired, and leaned over the desk. If she had been thinking, she would have stood up straight since Eric was no doubt getting a wonderful view of her cleavage... but she wasn't thinking straight. All her mind knew was that she needed to give Northman a piece of her mind.

"No, you presumptuous jerk, I have never used my talent in any situation since I learned how to control it. I got to where I am today by working my ass off. I graduated top of my class in college, and my boss had told me several times that he's never seen anyone like me before. I hate using my 'talent', as you call it, unless my life is in danger. Like when you strangled me. So no, Mr Northman, I _have _never and _will _never use my 'persuasion' to win a case, fuck you very much."

She fell back into her chair, her chest heaving with anger. She couldn't remember a time when she had been that angry before. When she had worked so hard to get where she was and then have its authenticity questioned by someone who should know better - because really, she had been pretty upfront about her hatred of using her 'talent' - pushed her to her breaking point.

Eric was actually amused by this show of irritation. He had seen the woman scared, fearful, and pissed off, but this was the first time he'd seen her truly angry. It really was a sight to behold, he thought. Not unlike Sookie, her eyes sparkled with repressed power, her face contorted with determination in a way that made Eric want to know if she would have that same look if he bent her over and fucked her on the desk.

Although he didn't really like the woman, she was still a woman. An attractive one, at that. He could still appreciate her figure and her lacy purple bra that showed as she leant towards him, just like he could appreciate Sookie's radiant figure when _she _shouted at him. However, Sookie had redeeming qualities. Sarah did not.

Then again, his mind refuted, she did have _some _qualities in her personality that could be admired. She was confident, intelligent, driven - not unlike himself.

But alas, he digressed. There was a woman who was very annoyed sat in front of him. As much as he enjoyed getting her riled up, he didn't want her to despise him when he needed her to compromise on her services to him.

"Have you decided how you are going to repay me?"

Sarah was astounded at how quickly he could change the subject. It was like she hadn't even spoken.

She had just opened her mouth to insult him when he spoke again. "Because repay me, you must."

Sarah huffed. His determination to steer the conversation away from her anger was strong, and she knew that he woudn't acknowledge that he said anything wrong. So she decided to forget about his mistake for the time being, and say whatever let her leave Fangtasia.

"I am not using it on vampires," she told him, repeating her non-negotiable term so that he understood her stance on it. It was the one thing she refused to let go of.

To her surprise, he only nodded. "Fine. Then you shall use it on humans to further your skills."

She knew that he wouldn't relent on his repayment having something to do with "furthering her skills." This was as good as she was going to get.

So she did what she knew would get him to let her leave.

She relented.

"I will use it on humans _only _if it is harmless. I'm not going to hurt anyone, or make them do something that could potentially change their lives. I want to have veto's on who and what I use it on."

Eric grinned, glad to have finally gotten what he wanted, even if it was not all he originally desired. He nodded at her demands, which made her stand up and throw her hand out.

When he only looked at it, partly in amusement and partly in disgust that she would even think that he would conform to human traditions, she rolled her eyes. "To seal the deal."

He somewhat cautiously reached his hand out to meet hers, shaking it firmly, but not so firm as to hurt her. She smirked slightly in victory, and released him to walk towards the door.

"I'll be here again tomorrow night at around eight."

"I look forward to it," he replied, slightly surprised that he actually meant it.

She twisted the doorknob to leave through the back door this time (so she didn't get caught by Rebecca once again), and stepped out of the office.

"Oh, and Sarah?"

His voice called her back, and she barely supressed the irritated sigh that threatened to burst from her lips. She just wanted to leave.

Her head poked around the door again, her eyes shooting daggers at him.

He grinned again before he said, "Nice bra."

* * *

**Happy 2011! Start it off right with a review? :)**

**PS. Please excuse any typos.**


	9. When You Came In The Air Went Out

**I'm so sorry for not getting back to all your wonderful reviews. Thank you so much for all of them. Also, I apologise for this chapter taking a while. I'm in the middle of important exams which take priority over writing at the moment. They finish by the end of January, so regular (ish) updates should return in February. **  
**Thank you for reading, alerting, favouriting, reviewing - it all means a lot to me. **

* * *

Someone was knocking. Loudly.

Sarah initially simply rolled over, knowing that Sookie - the bright and bubbly morning person - would see who it was. Sarah usually wasn't too bad in the mornings - slightly groggy but not downright incapable of anything. On this occasion, however, Sarah had gotten home at a ridiculous hour the night before (or that morning, actually), and she wasn't in the mood for anything other than sleep.

Thus, when the knocking didn't desist, she was incredibly irritated when she was forced to slump down the stairs - dressed in what she had worn the previous night since she was too tired to get changed - and answer the door for herself. She briefly wondered where Sookie was, but then decided that they hadn't reached the stage in their relationship yet for it to be acceptable to wonder or care where the blonde had gone. They were both big girls.

She threw the door open after finding a key to unlock it, and glared at the man standing behind it.

"Jeez, Sook, I've been knocking for-"

He stopped talking when he saw that it was not the person he was expecting opening the door. Sarah huffed impatiently when he didn't speak again for a few moments, using the silence to take her in. She should have felt embarrassed that she looked so awful when meeting one of Sookie's friends, but then decided that she really couldn't care less. He was the one knocking on her door at this horrendous time. Well... Sookie's door.

"Can I help you?" She snapped unceremoniously, too tired to consider being friendly. Coffee would be needed for that if sleep wasn't going to happen.

"Um," he started, scratching his head uncomfortably at the venom in her tone. "I'm looking for Sookie?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "She's not here. What do you want with her?"

He frowned, clearly not used to taking a verbal beating at this hour in the morning from a complete stranger. She took that moment to look at him properly. He looked...somewhat dopey, yet attractive. His tank top was evidently meant to show off his muscles (which Sarah had to admit were impressive), and his jeans were supposed to show off his butt (since Sarah couldn't see his assets, she couldn't judge). His hair was blonde, and his eyes were baby blue. All in all, Sarah thought he was cute. Floppy.

"I'm Jason, her brother?"

Oh. Sarah didn't see that one coming. She felt a pang of guilt over being so rude, but dismissed it once remembering how shattered she was. So instead of apologizing, she raised her eyebrows in a, "So?" gesture. He cleared his throat slightly, and looked up at her more determined that before.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked, raising his chin slightly as though Sarah somewhat intimidated him. She chuckled internally at the thought.

When what he said registered, she thanked herself for being a lawyer. It had taught her to expect the unexpected and to think fast when needed. This was one of those times. If she hadn't have been used to being thrown a question that she wasn't prepared for, she would have floundered at Jason's question helplessly, before revealing the whole story. As it were, her career defined her in that moment, and she answered smoothly.

"I'm Sarah, her new roommate. She put in an ad in the newspaper for one and I applied. As you can see, I got it."

His frown stayed in place a few moments longer, before it slowly morphed into a cocky grin that made Sarah remember the college parties she went to a few times - he was going to flirt with her.

She repressed the sigh that threatened to escape her lips by smiling tightly.

"So you're new around here?" He asked her, throwing his weight onto his other foot. He suddenly looked much more relaxed than before when he'd assumed it was Sookie that would answer the door. He looked young and carefree, almost like Sarah should look if she wasn't hell bent on being successful. If she hadn't met Godric...

She stopped herself from thinking that before she became less angry and more upset. "Yeah," she told him, trying to sound off-hand. "I'm from Dallas, originally."

He smirked as he murmured, "Go Cowboys, right?"

Her smile only grew thin as he spoke of her hometown. She didn't want to look back to that point in her life because everything good that happened there happened with him.

"Right."

"I'm sorry if I woke you. You look like you could've used the sleep," he laughed, not realizing that he'd just insulted her. In all honesty, she couldn't even find it in herself to resent him for it. She did look tired. She could have used the sleep.

So instead of glaring at him, she laughed a bit more freely. After all, if there was one trait in a person that she could admire it was honesty.

"I could've," she agreed, running a hand through her hair. When he didn't speak, she knew that he was expecting an explanation. Thinking fast once more, she continued. "I went to a party last night and didn't get in until late. Well, early."

If possible, his expression only grew brighter with excitement. He was interested. She needed to do some damage control, and quickly. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate his interest - on the contrary, it was very flattering. However, she had enough on her plate at that moment without having to add dating to the list. Besides, he didn't seem like her type. It was too soon.

In that brief moment, she wondered if it would ever not be too soon. Would her heart always ache as though someone had squashed it with their hands whenever she thought of Godric? Would she ever find someone who could hold a candle to him? Someone kind, yet forceful in his generosity? Her stomach twisted when she realized that no, she would not. Godric had been perfect, and it was extremely hard to find perfection in the men of today. Did that mean that she would die alone, with no one around her? Her parents (who she needed to call, she mentally reminded herself) would die eventually, leaving her with...nothing. Only her career.

But then, that had been her plan. She had always wanted to be a successful lawyer (from the age of thirteen, at least. Before then, she had been adamant that she would be a ballerina and would perform to Kings and Queens around the world). She would simply have to deal with the repercussions of her choices.

And maybe invest in a cat or two.

Jason laughed, and replied, "Party animal, huh?"

Sarah snorted. "Hardly."

He smirked again, and took a step closer to her, almost through the door. "There's a party tonight, in Shreveport. Me and the guys are goin'. Do you wanna come?"

She froze, and quickly tried to deflect. "Oh, no, that's o-"

"I feel like I should get to know you if you're gonna be living around here for a while."

He was good, she had to admit. It was also a very valid point.

She smiled a little wider, and replied, "I could really do with some more friends here, that's for sure." She emphasized the word 'friend' in the hope that he would get the message. She really didn't want to have to deal with his advances any more than he wouldn't want to chase her if she was never going to be caught. Letting him down was better for both of them.

Sure enough, his eyes lost a hint of their sparkle, and he looked almost... disappointed. Not with her, but with himself. She wondered if he was not used to girls rejecting him, but didn't think much else of it. He was clearly mature enough to understand the universal, "I'm not interested" look that she was giving off in every capacity.

Still, he nodded happily. "I'd be happy to show you around the town whenever you'd like. I could introduce you to some people from around here too, so you'll know more people that just me and Sook."

Her returning smile was more genuine this time. A guy who could handle rejection with a smile was someone that Sarah admired. "I'll take you up on that at some point this week. But for now, I really need to catch up on sleep. And work."

He put his hands in his pockets and grinned. "It was nice meeting you, Sarah. Could you do me a favor and tell Sookie I stopped by? I haven't really spoke to her all that much since we got back from Dallas." He paused, as if remembering something. "Your hometown!" He smiled wider as he started to make his way off the porch and back to his truck.

Before she could stop herself, she blurted, "You went to Dallas with Sookie?"

She knew that it would be better for her if she didn't ask. But the masochistic part of her needed to know. Did this man before her know Godric? Was he there also when he met the sun? Did he offer comfort when she couldn't?

He turned around and started to walk backwards slowly. "Yeah. I got into some, er, trouble that led me there."

"What kind of trouble?"

She needed to stop talking, she knew. This would only make the hurt stay for longer, knowing that the family that she was residing with thought that they knew the one person who truly understood her.

"Uh," he mumbled, the topic clearly an issue he didn't want to discuss. "Vampire trouble. Kinda."

Sarah forced herself to grin and wave to him, and she walked back into the house, ignoring his confused face. They were in the middle of a conversation after all. She walked slowly up to her room, shut the door quietly behind her and sat down stiffly on the bed, no longer tired.

Vampire trouble. It made sense, of course. He was there when Sookie and Bill were, so she could understand why it was to do with vampires. It always was, she thought bitterly. Was he on Godric's side? Or was he one of the humans involved in the bombing that had killed Stan and others in the nest? (She couldn't find it in her heart to forgive Stan since he had put her through was she considered to be torture, and therefore didn't feel anything upon the news of his death.) The thought made her throat constrict with something. She didn't want to even think that someone she had just been having a conversation with was the short-term reason for Godric's death. She thought that if she met the persons responsible she would feel this overwhelming sense of hatred within her, and with Jason, she only felt awkward.

He could have been on Sookie's side, she argued in her head. That would have made more sense, since they were siblings.

Shaking her head as though it would get rid of her thoughts, she mechanically laid back down on the bed, hoping that turning horizontal might help her feel tired once more. She really needed her energy if she was going to be "practicing" that night. She shut her eyes, trying to block out the light that made her even more alert.

Knock, knock, knock.

Three very hard and purposeful knocks resounded throughout the empty house. Sarah groaned. Evidently, God had it out for her that day; she immediately realized that she was going to have a terrible day.

Retracing her steps once more, she pulled the door open with so much force, she was afraid that it would swing right off its hinges.

She didn't even greet the balding man with a smile, a nod, or the barked, "What?" that she had given Jason. She simply looked at him, trying to think of numerous ways to get rid of him in under thirty seconds. Then again, since the universe was trying to get on her nerves, would she even make it back to bed?

Thankfully, the man - with thinning dark hair and dark eyes - only glared back at her. "Are you Sarah Williams?"

She nodded once, her arms crossing over her chest in defense. It was an automatic response that she had formed over the years.

"I'm Bobby Burnham, Mr. Northman's day-man. I've been sent with instructions."

At this, Sarah's eyebrows rose. Eric had left "instructions"? Instructions for what? More to the point, how presumptuous of him.

If Bobby Burnham saw her shock, he didn't show it. He simply continued to talk, revealing an envelope from behind his back. "He has orders for you to go shopping. Here is the money he sent me with; he requests that you spend it all. You'll find an elaboration within the envelope."

He thrust the package in front of her, gesturing for her to take it from him. Almost hesitantly, she did so, frowning the whole time. "Do you know why he-"

"Everything is explained in the envelope, Ms Williams."

He bid her a good morning before striding down the porch stairs and back to his BMW. Sarah stood in the doorway, stunned, for a few more moments before closing the door and ripping excitedly into the envelope. She had always loved a mystery, and Bobby Burnham had built the contents of this package up too much.

Feeling like a child on Christmas morning, she berated herself and slowed down. She glanced into the package and saw wads of cash and a letter which read,

_Sarah, _

_Enclosed, you will find $2000. It is expected of you to dress appropriately when making nightly visits to my establishment. Therefore, you will use this money wisely to buy outfits that I would deem appropriate. No arguments. Spend it all, otherwise I shall be forced to buy your clothes for you. Perhaps a dress to match your purple bra? _

_E. _

She re-read it once more to make sure she understood before smirking a little. Their banter - although sometimes deadly - was really quite enjoyable, she thought.

The independent part of her wanted to rip up the letter and give the money back and/or to a charity of some sort. She didn't want him to think that she needed him beyond anything but protection. She had enough money to buy nice clothes. She had nice clothes. It made her feel bought if she let him spend his money on her.

Yet the other part of her - the one who had never been spoiled, not even with Godric since he didn't want to upset her by protesting when she rejected his money and gifts - wanted to accept it. She was here by choice and this was a lovely bonus. If he wanted his money to be spent, surely she should be doing anything she could to thank him for agreeing to guard her.

Deciding to compromise, she put $1000 in her bedroom in order to give back to him and took the rest of it to the nearest mall with the intent on making Eric a happy vampire.

Even in her head, she snorted.

Three hours later, she returned to the house laden with bags. It was filled with fancy cocktail dresses, some revealing and some more conservative, a variety of tops and even some floaty skirts that were very unlike her. The very helpful lady at Saks, however, had convinced her that her skin tone looked "positively radiant" in the shades she'd bought. She'd even managed to find several dresses in the sale which were staple pieces that would always be in fashion.

All in all, Sarah felt that it had been a productive shopping trip.

Sookie was still not there when she got home; Sarah assumed that she was still at work. The word "work" made Sarah cringe with guilt - she hadn't done anything professionally productive whatsoever. She solemnly swore to herself that she would get up as early as her body would allow and work all day, emailing Vanessa tips for their upcoming trials and answering emails regarding new clientele.

After depositing her bags upstairs in her room, she walked downstairs into the kitchen where she picked up the phone and dialed the number she knew off by heart with shaking hands.

"Hello?"

Her mother's voice was the same as ever - cold, detached, yet curious and cunning. Sarah's mother, Celia, had always looked "done." Yes, if Sarah could think of one word to describe her mother it was "done." She was always perfectly presented - Chanel suit on, hair slicked back in a perfect chignon, brick colored lipstick always in place - and Sarah couldn't remember a single time that her mother had ever looked "undone." Indeed, she had never seen her angry, upset, or even happy to an extent. Celia smiled her thin-lipped smile when meeting new and influential people, or when someone told a joke that was only half-funny, but she never let herself laugh freely. In some ways, Sarah was just like her, yet in others, Sarah prayed to God that she would never be likened to the woman who brought her into this world.

Her father, John, on the other hand, was much more warm. He was still snobbish, but he was never selfish or overly conceited. His smile upon seeing his daughter would be bright enough enough to light a room, and his friendly demeanor made him the parent that Sarah would go to if she ever needed to talk to someone.

"Mother," Sarah breathed in response, trying to conjure a smile.

"Sarah? Where on Earth have you ran off to?" Her tone was clipped and precise, as though she didn't really want to know the answer but felt a maternal obligation to ask.

"I'm in Shreveport," she half-lied, not wanting to explain the whole situation. "I won't be coming home this weekend for brunch like I said I would. I'm busy."

"We've already invited Wanda and Paul, Sarah. They're bringing their son, Alex, to meet you. They all want to see how you've been doing since you took on your new role at the firm."

On some level, Sarah knew that she would never be good enough in her mother's eyes. Even when she had been promoted so early, Celia had only smirked and told her that vampires didn't deserve lawyers, and if they did, they would go to the best in the country and not to someone as young as her. Sarah, who had been expecting it, had only smiled sardonically in response and lowered her eyes. In order to please her mother, Sarah would have to make millions doing something "substantial."

Therefore, she wasn't surprised or hurt when her mother's voice became even cooler when mentioning her job.

Sarah sighed. "I can't be there. You'll have to cancel."

"I can't just cancel, Sarah-"

"Well you'll have to!" She snapped back. Taking a deep breath to control her anger, she murmured an insincere apology.

She heard Celia huff. "I'll postpone it until August 20th. I expect you there, Sarah."

Willing to say anything to shut her up, Sarah told her that she would be there and they both hung up without goodbyes. They both knew that the other was alive, and that was all that seemed to matter.

Sarah walked into Merlotte's feeling a little apprehensive. She had never been big on grills like these; they were too personal, too quaint, too... normal, for Sarah to fit in. The only reason why she walked into Merlotte's that day was so that she could try to fit in. She was going to be living there for some time.

The first thing that knocked Sarah off her high-horse was the fact that nobody even glanced at her when she walked in. She was forced to find a table by herself (she chose one in the back corner) and even once she had sat down, nobody had noticed her. The second thing that told her that she was not the center of the universe was the red-headed waitress who didn't raise her eyes from the pad of paper as she took Sarah's order.

Feeling idiotic, she slumped into her chair and started looking around for Sookie.

The blonde was bouncing happily around the bar, telling the bartender drinks and shouting orders at the cook. She looked as though she was in her element. Sarah felt a short pang of envy that Sookie was able to feel so comfortable doing something that was easily dismissed by society. Sarah had to climb the professional ladder by hurting people, and even then her mother was never proud of her. Sure, Sarah was comfortable when she was in court, but she'd never won a case and felt like some of her coworkers did.

The red-head brought over her fries and her Diet Coke, giving her the check as she went. After nibbling on the soggy fries for a few minutes, Sookie finally noticed her. Her face lit up into a smile, and she leaned over her shoulder to tell one of the bartenders something. She took off her apron and walked over to where Sarah sat, now grinning at the blonde.

"Sarah! Hey! I didn't see you there. What are you doing here?"

Swallowing her bite, Sarah replied, "I just thought I'd get a feel for the neighborhood. I thought this was a good place to start."

Sookie sat down opposite her in the booth, and they chatted away idly for a good five minutes - how their days had been, what they planned to do that night, how Sarah could earn her keep at the house (a suggestion which Sookie had waved off as though it was never suggested).

After a while, a striking woman with dark hair walked into the bar, and she, not unlike Sarah, barely made anyone glance over either. This woman, however, didn't seem perturbed at all, and made a beeline straight for the female bartender. When Sarah looked back over at Sookie, she noticed that the blonde was frowning at the woman carefully.

"You okay?" Sarah asked hesitantly, not wanting to alarm Sookie with a loud voice.

Sookie nodded by said, "That woman gives off a weird vibe. A bad feeling, almost."

Frowning, Sarah asked her to elaborate.

"I don't know... something about her just doesn't seem right. She came in the other day to see Tara and I didn't like her then. She's spoken to me once and when I touched her I- well, I didn't like the feeling I got."

What was the woman, psychic?

Not really understanding, but not wanting to appear rude, Sarah nodded.

When an awkward silence appeared, Sookie smiled and visibly shook her head as though it would get rid of the "bad feelings" and declared that she had to get back to work.

Only five minutes after Sookie had left the table, the mystery woman with the "bad vibe" slid into the booth with Sarah.

When she looked up from her drink, Sarah couldn't help but agree with Sookie - this woman did have a bad vibe.

"You," the woman declared with a raspy voice and a point of a finger, "look interesting."

Sarah's eyebrows rose into her hair, clearly shocked at how the woman had began the conversation.

"I'm not," Sarah told her firmly, looking her dead in the eye as though they were about to have a throw-down right there in the middle of the bar. The woman, however, only laughed slightly in response.

"No, no, no! We're all interesting, but you look like you have something a little extra."

Not knowing how to feel about the strange woman who did indeed give off a bad feeling, Sarah said nothing.

It appeared that she didn't have to since the woman continued to speak. "I'm Mary-Ann. I'm new around here, too."

How did she know that Sarah was knew? Why was she even speaking to her? Sarah had barely looked at anyone else in the bar all evening, so it wasn't like she'd purposefully attracted her attentions.

"Sarah," she supplied, for a lack of other things to say.

Mary-Ann smiled, and Sarah couldn't help but think that it looked malicious. "It's nice to meet you, Sarah."

"When I met Sarah I felt many things, none of which were 'nice'."

The new voice surprised both the women at the table, and for the first time, Sarah was glad to look up into the eyes of Eric Northman.

If Sarah expected Mary-Ann to be disturbed by Eric's imposing presence, she was very wrong. In fact, she seemed to be even more excited. "Maybe you just couldn't see her potential."

"Oh, I see plenty of potential in her," Eric replied, looking directly at Sarah who resisted the urge to glare back. They needed to present a front to the woman before them.

Before Mary-Ann could reply, Eric interrupted her by saying, "If you'll excuse us, Sarah and I have business to attend to."

He grabbed Sarah's arm, yanked her out of the booth and marched her towards the door.

When Sarah looked behind her, she noticed that she had finally caught everyone's attention.

She also saw the evil grin on Mary-Ann's face, and the way her eyes trailed between her and the wide-eyed blonde in front of the bar with unbridled anticipation.

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**Please excuse mistakes. It's late and I wanted this out. Thanks again for the reviews last chapter! I'm so sorry it took so long (though it is extra long to make up for it). I'm such a failure. My exams finish very soon though, so I should be writing more. **

**Reviews make exam-week less horrible. **


	10. Throw Your Soul Through Every Open Door

Once outside, Sarah turned to look up at Eric with the edge that she usually adapted around him. He simply grinned in response, leading her towards a red Corvette which screamed Eric. On their way out of the bar, Sarah had noticed Bill standing next to Sookie at the bar so she assumed that Eric had come into Merlotte's with Bill to collect their women (only Bill's collection was in a romantic way. Sarah knew Eric was collecting her as a valuable). She had been anxious and apprehensive about leaving Sookie alone with the strange woman she'd just met, and she couldn't help but quiz Eric about it.

"Did she seem a little odd to you, too?" She asked, surprised that she wanted his opinion on something. Usually she would dismiss him just as he dismissed her, but at that moment she found that she cared what he thought about this topic. Mary-Ann had seemed dangerous, and who better to discuss danger with than a vampire?

"Initially, no," he responded, unlocking the car. Once they were both in, he continued. "When I smelled her, however, I knew that something about her was not human." He paused and frowned, as though he was going to say something prophetic. "And she said it was 'nice to meet you'. Any person who thinks you are nice seems odd to me."

If they were closer, like she and Godric were, or even how she and Isabel were, she would have playfully slapped him and laughed. Since they were not, however, she settled for a raised eyebrow that she knew gave away her amusement.

He was trying to make the situation lighter, she knew. The night didn't need any more drama than it was going to have at Fangtasia with her training.

As though he read her mind, Eric said, "I am not working tonight. We will go to your home to practice with your talent."

Sarah frowned. "But there are no humans there. Sookie's working."

When he smirked dangerously, she knew that he'd already thought of that and was way ahead of her. "You've invited some fangbangers to Sookie's house, haven't you?"

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

Sarah sighed heavily and wearily, knowing that it was not in her best interest to argue. The humans wouldn't do anything harmful to the house while she was there, and she doubted that Eric would risk Sookie's wrath if he let anything happen either. He wished for her approval too much.

"I'd like to be finished for midnight. I need some sleep." If she couldn't argue about the house guests, she was determined to complain about the late hours he kept her up until. She needed to stand her ground with something - it was not in her nature to simply submit, but she wasn't overly stubborn. When she knew that an argument couldn't be won, she wouldn't take it on. Call it lawyer-intuitive, she just knew if she'd lose. She knew that she'd not win The Magister's child's court case, but she'd wanted to try anyway. She'd liked Joseph. With Eric Northman, however, she didn't want to embarrass herself by trying to argue a lost case. He'd won this round. She was going to practice, one way or another.

Eric nodded his head in acceptance as he drove, keeping his eyes firmly plastered on the road.

As Sarah watched him drive, she couldn't help but rake her eyes over him. She disliked him from the moment he tried to kill her, but she could appreciate an attractive man when she saw one. She took note of his tidy hair that was begging to have fingers run through it in the heat of the moment, his angular profile which made him look sly and cunning even when he smiled. He was really a sight to behold, and if she had been a normal human woman she would have tried to gain his attention like the girls at his bar did.

But she was not normal. She didn't want his attention in that way. Sure, it would be flattering, but she'd had his number pegged when she saw him eye-fucking numerous women from his throne at Fangtasia. He used women for sex, just as they used him. It was a cycle that worked.

They didn't speak for the rest of the journey, though that wasn't long. The gravel beneath them crunched under the weight of the car, making the vehicle bounce. Sarah noticed that a generic rental car was idling outside the house, and as Eric pulled the Corvette behind it, two humans - one male and one female - exited. Neither were wearing many clothes and Sarah couldn't help but notice the multiple bites scattered across their bodies. Evidently, they were a favorite amongst vampires.

"No biting in the house," she warned Eric, pointing a finger at him as she undid her seatbelt. He grinned slightly in response, his eyes holding the same anticipation that Mary-Ann's had earlier that night. Eric's, however, instilled something else inside her that wasn't fear. She passed it off as irritation.

She walked past the humans who didn't acknowledge her without even a glance. She unlocked the door, feeling Eric's eyes on her but doing a wonderful job of ignoring him, and walked in, tossing her keys on the side. She heard footsteps behind her - heeled footsteps - which was the only indication she needed that the fangbangers were following her into the house. She walked into the kitchen and turned the coffee-machine on, her movements so familiar they were robotic. Soon, the smell that made her mouth water wafted through the air. She had not turned to face the three people in the kitchen since she'd walked in, but she knew they were there from the deep breathing of the human helpers.

Once the coffee was made and offered around (nobody accepted), she took a seat at the table at which they were sat and looked to Eric.

"So how is this going to work? I tell them to do something simple and pointless and you see that I do actually have something strange about me?"

Eric didn't reply straight away, choosing instead to look around the room. When his eyes landed back on Sarah, he said, "I know you can persuade people to do whatever you want. I have witnessed this first hand. I want to see how far you can be pushed in regards to a human recipient since vampires make you weak."

"So what exactly do you want me to do?" Her voice had a strong and defensive undertone to it, even though her eyes betrayed her nervousness. She didn't want to be susceptible to Eric's unpredictable anger - practicing too much would do exactly that.

"We'll start with memories."

Sarah frowned. "I've only tried to do anything in relation to memory once. Stan made me. It's too complex. It's not what I do."

Eric only looked at her blankly. "I'm not Stan."

She sighed and shifted in her chair, taking a large gulp of the steaming drink. Neither she or Godric had ever broached the topic of memories, since he never expected her to further her skills and only helped her harness them. Finding memories or planting a false one was not something she could do - she could tell people to do something and they would without question. She didn't have the power of a vampire - she couldn't manipulate the mind further than that. Stan had made her try time and time again but she couldn't. Memory was too deep and too personal.

When she told Eric that she couldn't do it, he simply replied, "Have you ever tried it willingly?"

She'd rolled her eyes and reminded him that she hadn't, and he seemed smug. "Then how do you know you can't? You told me once that Godric described glamoring to you and that you think it's similar to that. I concur. So why should you not be able to do what I can?"

"Because I'm not supernatural," she hissed, feeling her anger rising. She didn't want these experiments to be like before - she didn't want to be worn out by prodding and poking at people's minds.

Eric, feeling her anger mounting but not caring, smirked again. "I disagree. You said that you gain someone's trust and influence their actions when you unleash your gift. Making someone believe something that never happened is just one step further. Pull together pieces of their mind to concoct a memory - we'll start with recreating the memory of them walking into this house - and then override it. Concentrate."

Throwing her head in her hands, she murmured, "It's not that simple, Eric."

"Try."

She knew that he wouldn't let it go until she at least tried. She had told him that she would repay him by practicing on humans. He had acquiesced to this... she needed to keep up her end of the bargain.

Looking up, she immediately stared straight into the eyes of the woman sat across from her. She was really quite pretty, Sarah thought. If Celia ever had her hands on her, she'd be beautiful. With less eye makeup, actual clothes, a new hair cut and she'd be deemed a lady by the likes of experts like Celia.

She latched onto the part of the woman's mind easily, as though she was going to persuade her to do something simple like walk to the coffee machine and refill Sarah's cup. That part was easy. Having her attention and that part of her mind, she tried to extend it to the rest of her brain, trying to locate the small section that held memories while still keeping a firm grasp on her decisions. The further she went, the less grip she had. Still, she pushed on, trying to recreate a memory in the woman's head.

Eric watched Sarah try with a great deal of interest. A frown had puckered her tanned and petite face as she exerted the concentration she needed for the task he had set her on. He watched intently as she saw the internal struggle she was having, and he tried to remember if he'd had the same amount of difficulty learning when he'd first been turned. No, he thought. It had come naturally to him.

As he watched the poor girl struggle to find a memory, he found that he really wanted her to learn so that he'd be able to say that he, too, had a part in the girl's life. So that he could have as much of an impact on her life as his Maker did. He wanted her to advance further. To be as powerful as she could be.

He found it strange that he'd never had this urge with Sookie. He'd not wanted her to advance her powers in case it only drew more attention to her and endangered her. With Sarah, he knew that she'd be strong enough to deal with the extra attention if she succeeded in developing her gift. Sookie, although strong, would not. The two women did not share the same strength - Sookie was able to help anyone, regardless of a situation and was strong enough to stand up for what she believed in; Sarah had the ability to continue. She could survive. She had proved that by coming to him for help. Sookie would not have wounded her pride to do so.

Sarah huffed in exasperation as the part of the girl's mind that she had once had a firm grip on slipped away. She had been pushed out. Rejected from the mind of a fangbanger.

"I can't," she complained, feeling like a failure. She rubbed her temples, trying to dispel the headache which would surely make an appearance soon.

"That was only your first try," Eric argued softly, trying to keep her calm. "Again."

By eleven that night, no progress had been made. Each time she felt like she was coming close to a memory, she lost her grip on the part she needed to have a grip on. It infuriated her to the point where she'd thrown her mug into the sink with such force that it shattered. Eric had been resigned to send the two humans home with the driver that had taken them there while he stayed with Sarah.

Frustration. It was another emotion that Eric had not seen before on Sarah's face.

It didn't elicit the same kind of reaction that her anger did. Her frustration was all consuming. It made him want to calm her down and return her to the emotion of exasperation that she usually held around him. He didn't deal well with her frustrations.

Trying to distract her from the night's activities, he started, "I'm sure you've wondered why it is that the Fellowship are also after Sookie?"

She nodded as she tidied up the mess in the sink as quickly as possible. "It has crossed my mind, yes."

"She's telepathic."

On this announcement, Sarah's fingers slipped so suddenly that she cut herself on a sharp edge of the ceramic. Blood oozed out of it in an almost soothing manner. It reminded her that she was still human, despite her abnormal qualities.

"Shit," she murmured, placing the shards she had collected on top of the counter so that she could rinse the wound under the faucet. Just as she was reaching to turn it on, Eric's hand stopped her. He brought the hand he had a grip on to his mouth and before she could try to yank it away, he put the finger that wept blood into his mouth and sucked lightly.

The sensation it created within Sarah was completely unexpected. The action sent a shock of delight straight from his finger down to her stomach with clenched tightly. It was oddly erotic watching him close his eyes in appreciation as he tasted her blood for the first time. A sigh escaped her before she could comprehend it, and she dropped the towel she'd collected to dry her finger. She supposed that it wouldn't be needed any more. As he sucked, a throbbing began to make itself known which matched the rhythm of what Eric was doing to her finger.

She was enjoying this far too much. She didn't like him and she certainly didn't want him to have too much of her blood in his system. She wasn't there as a snack. They had a business arrangement. She quickly took her finger out of his surprisingly warm mouth and ran in under the faucet as though she was trying to get rid of any essence of him on her skin.

"She's telepathic? As in she can read minds?" Her voice shook slightly and she prayed that he was too wrapped up in the high of receiving an impromptu donation of blood to notice.

He hummed in response, and she was left to decipher the meaning of it herself.

"Everyone's mind?"

She suddenly realized what this meant - she wasn't the only freak in the world. Maybe it was naive and self-centered of her to think so, but she really had been so convinced that she was the only human with supernatural qualities that wasn't simply an extremely intellectual mind and the ability to answer math equations in the blink of an eye.

Someone was like her. Admittedly, they weren't exactly the same, but she didn't want to think of that. Maybe whatever abnormality that was in her genetic make up was also in Sookie and it had only manifested differently. She really hoped so.

"Every human mind. Well, except yours," Eric replied, wandering around the kitchen languidly. "But then you are not entirely human."

Sarah frowned. Everything that Sookie had said made more sense now - especially about Mary-Ann. The bad vibe must have come from her mind. Sarah felt idiotic that she had dismissed it as ridiculous when in actuality, Sookie knew so much more than she did.

Sarah simply nodded and asked Eric why Sookie couldn't read vampires' minds when she could persuade them. It was something that didn't seem to add up in her mind.

"I do not know," he replied honestly. "I have my theories."

When it became apparent that he wasn't going to share these theories with Sarah, she led him through to the living room. She slumped onto the couch and he followed suit by sitting gracefully down onto an armchair opposite her.

Sarah remembered something, and she couldn't help but smirk as she asked. "Is that why you're so intrigued by her?"

Eric, uncomfortable with where she was going with her line of questioning, replied, "Initially."

She realized that he was going to make this as difficult for her as possible. The part of her that needed to push decided that he'd pushed her to her limits that night and Sarah deserved to push him right back.

"But now?"

"Now what?" He snapped back, glaring at her. He obviously didn't like talking about emotions, she thought. Godric had never been too apprehensive about emotions or talking about personal things. At first he'd kept most things about him a secret, but as time had passed she'd managed to get him to reveal most of his secrets just as he had extracted personal details from her.

"Now, you clearly like her. You're jealous of her relationship with Bill."

"Bill Compton doesn't instill any sort of emotion in me, least of all jealousy."

He was lying to save face. She could tell by the way his eyes averted to Sookie's curtains, to her coffee table, to her bookcase in the far corner of the room. He was trying to avoid answering in case he didn't get the girl.

She suddenly felt sorry for him that he was being forced to watch someone he clearly wanted be with another man. Having to watch them grow deeper in love. It must've been hard for him to see that, she reasoned.

Feeling guilty, she tried a different approach.

"You should be more gentlemanly toward her. She's with Bill because he got there first. That, and you can really piss people off at times."

He didn't reply and she didn't want to speak again before he had. The obstinate couple sat in silence, Sarah staring at Eric and Eric staring at the window.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, he muttered, "I admire her tenacity. And her kindness." He swallowed against something that was obviously getting in the way of his next words. "She stayed with Godric on that rooftop when she could've left him alone."

Sarah's eyes shut of their own accord when he reminded her of Godric's death. Eric's tone was similar to hers whenever she spoke of Godric - quiet, reserved, devastated. His words left them both reminded of someone they'd each loved more than anything and they say in heavy silence as they both basked in the memory of him with another who understood.

"I owe her for that," Sarah said quietly, admitting it aloud for the first time. A part of her knew that she shouldn't be talking about Godric with Eric since his relationship with the vampire was far more powerful than Sarah's, but she also knew that if anyone was going to understand, it would be him.

Their emotion-filled conversation was cut short, however, when he closed off the link to his emotions and reverted back to his shell. There, nothing could hurt him. "For standing on a rooftop?"

"No," she snapped back, agitated that he couldn't openly admit how much he was hurting. When she spoke again, her voice was soft and vulnerable with the memory of Godric so prominent in her mind. "For being there when I wasn't."

Her reply rang true to them both, and for the first time in many centuries, Eric was silenced by a human woman. He had tried to take control of the situation, tried to bounce back to the banter they shared that would hide the fact that they were both broken. He had tried, but failed, to lighten up the morose atmosphere in the room. His cocky reply caught in his throat and he found that he couldn't say anything back to her. She was right. They both owed Sookie Stackhouse for being on that rooftop.

The clock on the fireplace continued to tick, though both the people in the room were lost in memories of the past.

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**A bit of a rollercoaster ride there. Eric and his emotions will play a large role in this story, just warning you.**

**Review if you'd like Eric sucking your finger and I'll see what I can do. ;)**


	11. Yesterday's Just A Memory

**Sorry this took a while! RL has been a little busy recently. **

**I didn't get as much feedback last chapter…I hope you're not losing interest? I know it's a slow-burner, but I'm planning this to be quite lengthy; I don't want to rush.**

**Anyway, here is Chapter Eleven. Enjoy. :)**

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If their silence hadn't been interrupted by the loud and intrusive ringing of Eric's cell phone, the two would have stayed like that all night. As it were, however, his phone _did _ring and they _were _interrupted.

"What?" Eric's voice was supposed to have bite to it, but his thoughts were somewhere else, lost in the nostalgia of his memories, and the word came out weary.

Thankfully, it was only Pam, who had seen him at his highest and his lowest and didn't care either way. "We have a problem."

Eric sighed, rubbing a hand down his face slowly and exhaling a deep breath that he didn't need. "What?"

He didn't need any more drama that night. He just wanted to get away from the woman who was making him relive the insurmountable pain he'd felt on that rooftop and the excruciating agony of being forced to leave. He couldn't think about it again - it was too much. After reassessing the situation, he realized that Pam's distraction really couldn't have come at a better time. He needed to leave. But then, he reminded himself, he needed to protect this woman. Where he went, she went. Whatever had gone on, however, did mean that they could stop sitting in the loudest silence he'd ever heard.

"I've just crashed a party. The place reeks of V. I can smell about twenty different vampires yet there are only humans present."

Eric stood up, gesturing for Sarah to do the same without even looking at her. "I'll find you," he told his child before hanging up.

"We're leaving," he threw behind his shoulder at her, marching towards the door with the confident swagger he always seemed to possess.

"Where are we going?" Sarah asked, grabbing her shoes and sliding them on as she walked, a task that was harder than it looked.

"Shreveport."

"I thought you weren't working tonight?" She asked, befuddled. Her mind was still where it was a year ago: in Dallas. She couldn't think straight currently; her mind was too busy remembering moments of bliss she shared with Godric.

"Something has come up."

Sarah noticed that Eric's answers were short and clipped, indicating that he wasn't any more in the mood than she was to deal with whatever had happened. Clearly, he was in the same state of mind that she was.

Sarah didn't ask or say anything else until they got to Shreveport and neither did Eric. Both of them were at the point where small talk needn't be made and they were both too preoccupied to bother. They were both at a loss for words.

When they exited the car at a house in the inner city and heard the thumping bass from inside, they both decided to leave whatever emotions they were dealing with inside Eric's Corvette. They both needed to be on top of their game.

Sarah, however, was far too exhausted to be up to the standard of her usual witty and tough self. She had told herself that she would be in bed by midnight at the latest, and would sleep for at least seven hours. Instead, the clock from the inside of the car told her that it was gone 1AM and Sarah was stuck in Shreveport with the Vampire Sheriff at what looked to be a regular house party.

"Stay close," Eric murmured, breaking the silence that they had. "I don't want to turn around and not see you there."

"Got it," Sarah replied, trying to brighten up the morose atmosphere that had taken over them.

When Eric didn't seem to respond in any way to her remark, she mumbled under her breath, "Unless some guy offers to get me a drink. I'll be off like a flash."

Eric, although hearing her remark, ignored her presence and strode up to the front door which opened to reveal Pam in slim-leg black pants and a pink frilly blouse. She was nearly as tall as her Maker in the heels she wore, but Sarah was more focused on the business-like look on her face which told Sarah not to make any of the sarcastic remarks that sprung to her head. She had a feeling that neither Pam nor Eric would appreciate them.

"Where is it being kept?" Eric asked, although Sarah had no idea what they were talking about.

"In the basement. The users are down there too." Pam then shouted someone over by the name of Dirk whose eyes glazed over as he saw that it was Pam who shouted him.

"Be a doll and invite my friend in," she purred with a hint of irritation.

Dirk, who was evidently drunk and stoned, grinned lazily. "Sure, dude. Come on in."

Eric wasted no time - besides the eye roll at being called "dude" - in walking into the house and down the stairs to the basement.

Sarah, for a lack of anything better to do, followed him like a lost puppy. The house definitely belonged to a man, she surmised. It had a masculine feel to it, from the neutral colors to the large TV on the den's wall with all gadgets, like X-Box's, attached underneath. Also, the place was crawling with drunken men and women dressed in barely there outfits. Only a man, Sarah thought.

The basement was just that - a basement. A washing-machine was situated in the corner of the room but was not on, and two couches were shoved beside a cheap coffee table that was covered in powder, pills, mirrors and red vials that Sarah could easily recognize - V.

"Is that-" She started, looking imploringly at Eric. It would make sense, she thought. He'd left the house at the drop of a hat after Pam's phone call. It would be important. Dealing V was a very large crime in the vampire world, so of course Eric - being the Sheriff - would be present.

The vampire cut off her question that she already knew the answer to with a curt, "Gentlemen."

Every person in the room froze at the sound of a new voice as though it was instinctual that they knew danger was near. Their heads swiveled round to face Sarah and Eric and their eyes held fear upon seeing Eric.

"Do you all understand that dealing and drinking Vampire Blood is illegal?" His voice was impassive and calm, yet it was deadly. She decided that he must've learned the trick from Godric who had also mastered the art of not raising your voice in order to instill more fear into a person.

A man wearing a cap rose, clearly feeling brave, and nodded. "Yeah, we do. What the hell are you gonna do about-"

He was cut off when Eric flew across the room to pin the man against the wall that had previously been several feet behind him. The others in the room stood up upon seeing it, all letting out exclamations of horror. One man even tried to escape up the stairs past Sarah, who simply shook her head in response and threw her arm out to stop him. Eric would not be pleased if she let one of them go.

Clearly, she must've been feeling courageous because even after he threatened her she did not move her arm.

"Bitch, move," he growled at her, stepping even closer to her. She could smell his breath as it washed across her face – the mix of blood and beer was quite repulsive. It made her cringe back in disgust, but something pressing into her stomach stopped her. Looking down, she saw a small army knife poised to stick into her. She glanced back up at the person who was planning on killing her to get away from Eric and noticed the look of anger on his face. His eyes gave him away, though – they held the panic and the fear, and Sarah felt no anxiety about staring hard at him and saying, "Give that to me and sit back down with your friends."

As she had expected, he immediately handed the knife over to her, his eyes unfocused, before heading back over to the couch where his other friends sat looking like they'd give their right arm to be anywhere but in that basement.

Thankfully, none of them had noticed their interaction as they'd been far more occupied with watching Eric almost strangle the life out of their daring friend as though the man weighed nothing more than a feather. As Sarah looked up, however, she noticed Eric watching her with a hungry look, as though he coveted her ability to do that. Sure, she thought, he could do it now… but she was human. He saw her as being underneath him.

Once everyone – apart from the man Eric had strangled who lay in a heap on the floor gasping for breath (not unlike her when she first met Eric) – was sat on or around the sofas in the middle of the room, Eric turned business like.

"Now that's settled," he spoke loudly, waving a dismissive hand at the man who was groaning behind him, "we can focus on the matter at hand. The V."

Silence followed for all of two seconds before chaos broke out across the room. All the men started shouting, trying to defend their actions as though it would help. Both Eric and Sarah regarded them silently as they hollered out excuses, both with a raised eyebrow and their arms behind their backs.

Sarah observed the crowd before her and her eyes widened when she saw a familiar face – Jason Stackhouse. He was looking at her pleadingly, trying to get her to stop him from getting into trouble. She shrugged helplessly at him, not knowing what she could do and his eyes only pleaded more in response.

She hated the feeling that flooded through her body – the feeling of being able to do nothing. She couldn't even speak up for fear of angering Eric. She usually could speak up in a court of law and make some sort of objection, but not this time. This time, nobody cared what she had to say.

Eric continued to speak as Sarah and Jason had a silent conversation. Sarah vaguely made out that he was just teasing them for the time being, fully intending to drag the dealers and the users back to Fangtasia before the night was through. Sarah could only imagine what he would do to them.

As he spoke with the authority that only Eric Northman could possess, Sarah tried to think of how she could get Jason out of this situation. She wasn't exactly well versed in the ways in which one could distract a vampire long enough for one person to escape his notice, so she had to work with what she did know.

Just as Eric said Pam's name to call her down to help, it hit her: Sookie. Eric wouldn't want to jeopardize his future relationship (platonic or otherwise) with Sookie by torturing her brother. It wouldn't bode well if he wanted to sleep with Sarah's new housemate.

Moving too quickly for Sarah to see, Eric and Pam went around to each individual in the room, knocking them out cold before moving onto their next victim. Thankfully, Sarah moved quickly too, keeping her eyes fixed on Jason. So when Eric approached him, fangs bared, Sarah let out a firm, "No," to stop him. He whirled on her out of animalistic instinct, but she was so used to fangs that they didn't scare her anymore. So she simply looked at him, to Jason, and back again.

"That's Sookie's brother," she told him quietly, not wanting the cowering Jason to hear. "I don't know if you've met him before, but she wouldn't want you to torture her brother like the rest of these."

Eric's face returned to its usual indifferent mask as he moved only his eyes to look at Jason. Recognition flickered in his light blue eyes before they once again turned onto her.

"What would you have me do? I must do something." His voice was also quiet, thankfully, and Sarah tried to shoot him a grateful look before speaking.

"I'm not sure…" She looked around in thought, noticing that Pam was dragging the bodies with one hand to the corner of the room while she spoke to someone on the cell with her other. The vials of V were smashed from the ruckus, blood oozing out onto the table and the floor.

"He could repay you in some other way? Make him earn his punishment?" She suggested, not really knowing what else she could offer to him that would leave Jason unscathed.

Eric looked at her with a strange expression that she couldn't place. "You don't want me to not punish him at all?"

Sarah couldn't help it – she scoffed. "No. I'm not stupid."

When Eric only raised an eyebrow as if to say, "Aren't you?" she continued. "I've dealt with users before with Godric. He kept me in the loop. You have to do something otherwise they get away with it. I know how they get their supply and it's disgusting. Of course you have to do something. Just…" she paused, thinking over her next words and how selfish they sounded. "Not Jason. I know it's wrong and self-righteous of me to only ask for him but—"

"Never put yourself down; it only gives others the encouragement to do so. If you want something, chase it. Don't be distracted."

Her mouth closed with a snap. He'd never offered her advice or guidance before; they were on new territory. And then she realized something.

"Did Godric tell you that?" Her voice was not even the smallest whisper, but she knew he'd hear.

He nodded once, before murmuring, "Before he changed his mind."

They were both edging towards the uncomfortable silence once again where their thoughts buried them and if it continued to happen, Sarah knew that it would never get easier to move on. They needed to stop.

"Does this mean you're not going to torture him?"

To her great relief, Eric shook his head. "As always, you make a valid point. But he will owe me fealty." He said the last part at a normal volume so that Jason – who had been watching their exchange with great curiosity – could hear him.

Jason nodded quickly, his face letting Sarah know that he understood that he had just gotten lucky. _Very_ lucky.

Pam interrupted the trio in the corner with an abrupt, and obviously fake, cough. "The van's is here. Help me drag them upstairs without too many people noticing." She turned to Sarah with a sly grin on her face. "If Sarah wanted to help, she could always go upstairs and… what's the phrase?... 'bump and grind' on the dance floor so everyone's distracted." Her grin only got wider at Sarah's astonished look.

Sarah looked to Eric to see if he could give any sign that she was joking but only saw him trying to suppress a smile at his child.

When he noticed her looking at him, he shrugged. "It would be entertaining to watch."

They were teasing. This time, she couldn't help the small grin that took over her face and she _did_ playfully shove his arm, even though it did nothing but make the sound of skin hitting leather. Thankfully, he didn't look surprised or angered by the action, so Sarah just dismissed it as something she'd have done with anyone. Besides, she reasoned, she'd be staying with him for some time. The sooner they got more comfortable, the sooner the awkwardness would disappear.

"Can't I help in some other way?"

That was how Sarah ended up flirting shamelessly with Dirk, the house owner, who she managed to persuade to move everyone outside. After all, it was "a really beautiful night that had to be appreciated." She was sure that Dirk had thought she was a hippie or something of the kind from the way she spoke with such rapture about the night air, but she knew that he thought he was getting lucky. It was astonishing what a man would do and say if the prospect of being laid was in his grasp.

After Eric gave her a hand gesture to hurry up, she managed to talk her way out of Dirk's grasp on her arm as he tried to stop her from leaving and hurried over to the large van that was to transport the users to Fangtasia.

Pam was stood with the keys in one hand, being tossed to and fro by her slight fingers, and with Jason in the other, looking somewhere between scared and confused.

"Pam will take Jason back to Fangtasia so we can talk. You will come with me." Eric spoke from the shadows behind the van as he slammed the door shut, before strolling round to the front next to his Corvette.

Sarah nodded, running her hands through her hair in a stressful manner. "Men," she muttered distastefully as a shudder ran through her. Eric only laughed before opening her door for her.

The ride to Fangtasia was quiet, but only because Sarah fell quickly asleep, lulled gently by the car's motions and the soft hum of the motor. She had always been soothed by cars since she was a small girl, a trick that her nanny had put to use a great deal. She remembered that Angela would always huff impatiently when she simply wouldn't nap at the set times Celia told her to but then ask the elder woman if she could take Sarah on a drive. Sarah would always protest, she remembered, since she knew that driving was the one thing to ensure her nap. She hated having to concede to her parents. It was because of this that almost as soon as Eric turned on the engine and her head hit the soft leather of the headrest, her eyes shut of their own accord.

They reopened after Eric gently nudged her with his elbow. She opened her eyes groggily, looking around in confusion.

"Why am I in your car?" She brought her hand to her hair, flattening it down in fear of looking like Rebecca.

"You fell asleep," he told her quietly, the peace of the car too quiet to break with harsh words.

"Clearly," she retorted with a hint of sarcasm, unbuckling her seatbelt. Her tone was lost, however, in the drowsiness of her voice and the way her eyes shut again once the belt had flown back behind her.

"Come, we have business."

She only groaned in response, trying to keep her eyes closed, but before long a warm breeze hit her, and a chilled hand closed around her wrist as Eric pulled her from the car as gently as his patience would allow. She let him tug her out of the car and she vaguely heard the sound of it being locked from behind her as she leaned on Eric as he guided her to the front entrance. She also heard the few gasps of delight around her as Eric came into view of the few men and women smoking outside which meant that she also heard the catty comments about her being with him. She decided that she really didn't care – she was too tired. She wanted to sleep.

Eric deposited her at the bar, ordering her a small Coke in the hope that it would perk her up slightly.

Sarah watched Eric walk away from her and the bar once he had been sure that she wouldn't fall off the stool. Her Coke arrived – ice cold – not long after, and she had sipped graciously at it. She was thirsty and the caffeine did help a little to wake her up (it was nothing like a cup of coffee, but she had to work with what she had). She stayed quiet amongst the clubbers, not wanting to draw attention to her in any way. She doubted that she'd be able to hold a conversation any way with her tiredness.

Her plans to stay unspotted didn't exactly work out. A young looking vampire with a very good bone structure strolled cockily up to her, expecting her to fawn over him.

"Good evening," he said to her, an undercurrent of a French accent present in his voice.

"Evening," she replied shortly, her voice still thick with sleep.

"I noticed that you were sat by yourself with a non-alcoholic drink. Usually, the women who sit alone and want _leaving_ alone are the ones drinking the heavy stuff. There's nothing heavy in your Coke. Apart from sugar, of course."

She didn't want him there. She wished that he'd leave her alone. She even considered asking the bartender to pour some rum into her drink so that he would take the hint that she did indeed want leaving alone.

"I'm not much of a drinker," she eventually told him wearily, not wanting to offend him. After all, he'd approached her out of all the other women in the room – she should have been flattered.

He laughed a little, sitting down as though they were now friends. She needed to put an end to this.

"Look, I'm sure you're great but I'm really not looking for anything right now – I don't want sex with you, I don't want a friendship from you, and I don't want to be a donor to you. I appreciate you talking to me, but I'm really not in the mood to talk. Thank you, though, for singling me out."

She then turned to face the bar, not even glancing at him again as he bit out a reply that she assumed was an attempt to save his dignity. She just sipped her Coke and stared at the granite bar and the red beer mats that were scattered across it.

She was so focused on not looking up that she didn't notice the pair of eyes on her. Eric watched in fascination as he saw Sarah reject the vampire – Louis McGreen was his name – with a class that only a few women, including vampires, possessed. She managed to be firm yet empathetic which was something even Eric couldn't do. He was only firm, never being subdued by his emotions. He didn't give sympathy or empathy and he certainly wasn't kind to strangers. He showed no mercy when it came to choosing women. He was selective, and if a woman wasn't good enough – didn't have the right blood type, being too boring, being too short, too tall, too bitter to taste, too sweet – he didn't exactly let them down easily. Women were there for his pleasure to do with as he pleased.

Except for, it seemed, three women – Pam, his progeny, Sookie, the one who baffled him beyond comfort, and now it seemed another woman had wormed her way into his life in a non-sexual way: Sarah, the mystery who understood.

At first, he would openly and happily admit that he despised the woman. She angered him by claiming to know Godric as he did, by dredging up memories of the past that he wanted to bury and burn within him… she managed to make him feel by being his only living connection to Godric. He had never been susceptible to a human before. The fact that she could control his mind was just another reason for him to hate her – he was vulnerable. Weak before her.

After spending a few days with – only a few days – he had come to see that she was really a lot like Sookie in a lot of ways. She was strong, independent and interesting to converse with. She was tough. But she was also experienced. She knew the vampire world and she didn't expect him to be somebody else like Sookie did. He couldn't be what Sookie wanted out of a man. She wanted more…and he wasn't prepared to give it. Sarah, on the other hand, didn't want more. In fact, she wanted less. She wanted to forget her past, even though the very fact that she was in Shreveport reminded her of it.

Watching her sleep had been fascinating. One moment she was fully conscious and making her usual remarks at him, and the next her breathing had evened out and her face had turned soft and unguarded. He watched her eyes flicker as she dreamt and listened to the way her breathing would speed up every now and then before slowing down again after. It had been a few years since he'd watched a human dream… he had forgotten how enchanting it was. Seeing her so vulnerable had also been an added bonus – it proved to him that she was, indeed, a human and not something that would wait until the opportune moment and then stake him. It proved that she was not always strong which was a boost for his ego. He _never_ had weak moments.

As he watched her brush off a young vampire who many women would beg to sleep with, he decided that she wasn't as annoying and as incompetent as he had originally thought. He could even grow to like her; after all, the amount of qualities that she shared with Pam was uncanny. He could see her as more than a 'thing' that needed to be dealt with for Godric's sake. Maybe.

* * *

**That wasn't too sappy or anything was it? I do worry a ridiculous amount when I write Eric not being mean. Just sayin'. **


	12. The Ice Is Getting Thinner

It took a lot of self-control for Sarah to not drift off to sleep again on the ride home. Eric's car had a certain quality about it that made her want to close her eyes and rest. If she thought about it carefully, it probably wasn't a good thing to feel so relaxed about someone who could snap her in an instant.

She told herself as she forced her eyes open that it was the car that made her feel comfortable. Not Eric.

"I'll see you tonight," she murmured to him as she stepped out of the car.

When he didn't reply, she placed her hand on the car door and was just about to push when he spoke. "Sleep today. Being half dead when trying to learn to manipulate minds will make the task impossible."

She sighed, remembering how little she got done the day before. She needed to work – surely Vanessa was struggling with the workload she had. The least Sarah could do was the paperwork. "It already is impossible," she told the vampire instead of expressing her worries.

She saw Eric's head shake even though she could barely see him from where she stood, high above the low-lying sports car. "You just think it is."

How would he know? She thought. Had he ever come across someone like her before? She would've bet her whole bank balance that he hadn't pushed _her_ to her limits. He wouldn't want to view her as anything resembling weak-minded. Instead, she guessed that his mind was filled with images of her self-sacrifice, her strong nature. She knew that if he pushed her as he pushed Sarah, Sookie would be just as pessimistic and as drained as Sarah felt after her previous 'session' with Eric. Why would he force the human he enjoyed so much to weaken herself, even if it was for the greater good?

"Whatever," she mumbled as she slammed the door shut and walked towards the door, dragging her feet in her sleepy state. She shoved her key in the lock and forced the door open, and it was only then did she hear the car start to move again along the drive.

After re-locking the door behind her – as quiet a town as Bon Temps was, Sarah didn't want to risk it – she threw her keys on the table beside the door and made her way to the lit up kitchen.

Sookie sat at the table nursing what looked to be warm milk, flicking through a romance novel as she sipped daintily. As Sarah entered, Sookie glanced up and grinned slightly.

"Hey, Sarah," she said wearily, as though she really needed a good night's sleep.

"Hi," Sarah replied, giving her a look asking why she was up at this time in the morning.

Sookie quickly interpreted this, and informed her, "I left Bill's about a half hour ago. Figured you'd be home soon so I stayed up."

Guilt threatened to overcome Sarah before she realised that she didn't ask her roommate to stay up for her. She could've gone to bed as soon as she got in and Sarah wouldn't have thought twice about it. Still, Sookie's kind-heartedness (even if it was a little extreme at times) could make anyone feel guilty. Sarah was no exception.

"You shouldn't have," she said, trying to keep out the traces of guilt that she was trying to internally quell.

Sookie smiled happily, even if it was a ridiculous hour. "It was no problem. I used to like it when Gran stayed up for me so we could talk about our days. We never got a chance otherwise."

Sarah smiled politely, still not feeling completely comfortable with the blonde. It wasn't that she didn't feel Sookie was trustworthy; it was just ingrained into the lawyer side of her to question everyone around to the point of paranoia. She couldn't help but question Sookie's motive for being so kind – why had she taken her in just because Eric asked? Sarah was positive that Eric had made sure his intentions with Sookie were clear and evidently Sookie had rejected him in favour of Bill. So why was she doing this for Eric? After all, there was no such thing as a free lunch, or a free house for that matter.

"Where is she now?" Sarah asked, already half guessing the answer. Sookie lived on her own now – clearly something had happened to make her the sole occupant rather than sharing with her grandmother.

"She died," Sookie told her sadly, her face having a small smile on it still even though her eyes watered slightly with unshed tears. Sarah, feeling extremely uncomfortable, felt the urge to not respond and just run up to her room. She had never been good at dealing with tearful people. She hated herself when she cried – something that had only made her depression worse when Godric had died – so when someone else cried over something as unavoidable as death, it made her freeze up before her own grief could consume her.

But before Sarah could make any sort of vague reply, Sookie continued to speak as though she'd known her new roommate all her life. "A friend of my brother's did it. He went on a murdering spree around Bon Temps after vampires started coming here. He was lookin' for me the night he murdered her because I was dating Bill. It was _my_ fault."

And then, before her very eyes, Sookie broke down in sobs.

Standing awkwardly in the entry for a few moments, Sarah contemplated what to do. Really, what comfort could she offer the woman? Nothing in the world could make Godric's death any better, and it was evident that Sookie was close to her grandmother so why would _she_ be comforted with meaningless words? Just like the pain of Godric's death to Sarah, nothing would make Sookie's Gran's death into anything other than what it was.

Sarah slowly moved towards Sookie and placed a tentative hand on her shoulder, rubbing slightly as though creating friction on her arm would make the tears stop. Still, what else could she do?

"You can't blame yourself," Sarah told her softly, spouting off the words that Isabel had whispered into darkness the night Sarah found out about Godric's death. The memory was still fresh in her mind, as was the insurmountable pain she'd felt.

…

_I look up from my computer when I hear someone knocking on my apartment door. Closing down the Word document that has a client's details splattered across it, I hop up from the desk, grabbing my coffee as I go, and open the door._

_Since the only visitor I ever have is Godric, I expect to see his perfect form behind the door. When I am met instead with Isabel's face that is covered in bloody tear tracks, my heart stops immediately._

_Something has happened._

"_Is he okay?" I choke out quickly, needing her to reassure me that he is, indeed, perfectly fine and is just busy. That he has simply sent Isabel to ask me to meet him somewhere because he's caught up in Sheriff business. We haven't spent much time together as we usually do recently since I've been vying for a new promotion at work. I need Daniel, my boss, to give me the position of "Human-Vampire Relations Director" rather than just working under it. I have the most experience in the matter – thanks to Godric – so I feel it's not unjustified to expect a promotion of the sort. Vanessa is rooting for me also, since she knows I'll make her my "second in command" if you will. _

_In fact, I think, I haven't heard from him in over a fortnight. I haven't called him since I've been too busy… I start to panic when I realise that I've not spoken to him for weeks. What had I been thinking?_

_My world stops turning when she shakes her head. _

_What could have happened to him? My Godric… the strong warrior who is afraid of nothing and only wants peace between humans and vampires. Who would want to hurt him? Who would dare hurt him? The Fellowship? Sure, they've been trying to catch me – along with every other vampire in Dallas – for months now, but Godric had ensured nothing would happen. He's always three steps ahead of them, the humans who have dismissed me from society because I was born with a glitch._

"_What—" I start to ask Isabel, but I can't finish. I can't ask what's happened. _

_She seems to know what I want to know though, and she tells me softly, her own voice cracking in a very un-vampire manner, "He's gone."_

_My mind cannot comprehend this, so I ask stupidly, "Where?"_

_Isabel begins to sob as my question, and I nearly start screaming in her face. What does she mean he's gone? Where has he gone? Why hasn't he told me? What is making this centuries-old vampire, who is always so calm and controlled, break down before me? _

"_No, Sarah," she tells me again through her tears. "He met the sun."_

_I want to laugh. Strange, but true. She's obviously joking. Why on earth would Godric, who had been laughing with me not three weeks ago, kill himself? Nothing could make him do such a thing._

_But her face stops me. The red tears are violently pouring down her face, and the remnants of earlier ones that she'd wiped away were staining her perfectly porcelain cheeks. Why is she crying at a joke? Why is she crying?_

"_Isabel," I try to scold her for her poor joke, but it comes out as a desperate plea for more information. _

"_For the last fortnight he has been a captive of the Fellowship. They came looking for the two of you one night when you were supposed to be at the house, but you'd cancelled because of work, and when they asked where you were, he gave himself up to divert them."_

_Numb. Numb is the emotion I feel. Her words are a string of syllables bunched together – they don't mean anything to me. Just sounds._

"_He made me promise not to tell you. We were so sure that we'd find him and retrieve him by the end of last week but the Fellowship have become more advanced… we had to call somebody in from another Area to get him back. This was last night. And then this morning… he went to the rooftop of Carmilla and –"_

_My erratic breathing stops her before she can say the words. As she spoke, I found that my breath gradually increased and as she neared the end of her talk, I couldn't breathe at all. I gasped for air frantically as my throat constricted when the terror I had felt not moments ago crawled its way up my body and overtook me. _

_Godric. Gone. Forever._

_Those words keep on repeating themselves in my head over and over, despite Isabel's words of comfort as she tries to keep her cool as I break down this time. She shushes me quietly, her hand stroking my hair down as I sink to the floor and she follows. I feel her bloody tears run into my hair but I don't care._

_I don't care about anything anymore._

_It's my fault, I realise. I haven't been as supportive recently, not there to help him realise that if him and I can become so close in such a short space of time, it is more than possible for humans and vampires to put aside their differences. After all, I'm a human. I'm friends with vampires and more than friends with him. If I can grow close, anyone can._

_Why haven't I been there for him? He always used to relax when I reminded him of our relationship and he always smiled and apologised, telling me that he views me as a vampire most of the time since I'm so ruthless and determined. "You'd make a perfect one," he used to tell me when we sat in my living room watching Audrey Hepburn films on repeat._

_It's my fault. I've not relaxed him. I've been too busy with work._

_It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault._

"_Shh," Isabel whispers. "You can't blame yourself, Sarah." _

_For the first time since I've met her, I hate her being with me. _

"_Go," I say suddenly, not wanting her to see me in such a state. I need to be alone. She can't see me like this. Nobody can. Only him and now he's gone._

"_Sarah," she implores softly, her accent no longer comforting. It now only serves to remind me of another time. With him._

"_Go!" I say again, wriggling out of her grasp. When she only stands up and stares at me empathetically, I break._

"_Go!" I shout, but she doesn't move a muscle. Why isn't she going? Can't she see that I want to be alone?_

"_Go!" I scream wildly, slapping her chest with a sudden urge of strength and anger that consumes me._

"_Go! Go! Go!" I yell over and over, slapping whatever parts of her body I can reach. Her arms, her face… anywhere. She doesn't flinch in the slightest, and my anger only makes her tears fall faster._

"_He left this in his room," she whispers, pulling out a letter from her pocket. "It's for you."_

"_I don't want it," I spit, even though all I want to do it grab it and read it as quickly as I can._

_She sees right through me. "Yes, you do."_

_She reaches forward to take my hand and she gently pries my fingers open from the fists they've formed. My fingernails have left horrid red marks on my palm and I know that if I clench them again the skin will break. She places the envelope in my hand before placing the hand back to my side._

_She gives me a kiss on the cheek as she pulls away and I don't move at all. _

"_He asked us to keep you safe. If you see us around, that is why."_

_And then she finally leaves. I am alone._

…

"I know," Sookie replied, unaware than Sarah's eyes had welled up as the memory sprung into her mind unbidden before she could stop it. "But I can't help it. If I wasn't with Bill, she would be alive."

Sarah resisted the urge to sniff since she knew that would give her away. "If it wasn't her, it would have been someone else. Another person's grandmother or another person's sister. Everybody is involved in vampires today in some way so he may have come after you again if you hadn't met Bill. But since you're happy, don't regret it. I'm sure your grandmother would have wanted you to be happy."

As she said the words, she couldn't help but wonder if Godric wished for her to be happy and nto to dwell on the past. Surely he knew that she wasn't the sort of woman to "get over" something? No, he knew she was stubborn and had the uncanny ability to hold a grudge for a long time. Surely he must've known that same perseverance would continue when she grieved him?

Did he send her to Eric to be happy as well as safe? Was that his dying wish – her happiness as well as her safety? He wouldn't send her somewhere where he knew she'd be miserable, and his letter had said how similar she and Eric were. She frowned slightly at the thought. Had Godric thought that Eric would make her happy? Yes, their personalities were similar – both were tenuous, stubborn and had the tendency to be arrogant every now and then – but that only contributed to their dislike for one another.

Recently, however, she had to admit that he wasn't grating on her nerves as much as he had been at the start. She'd thought him unstable and unpredictable which didn't bode well since she was entrusting him with her life. But he had shown himself to be… merciful that very evening. Maybe, she thought, he wasn't as bad as she had initially thought.

"Yeah," Sookie agreed, patting Sarah's hand delicately.

"I'm going to go to bed now. Are you okay?" Sarah asked, even though she feared the answer she would receive.

"Sure," Sookie smiled, wiping her eyes with her fingers.

Sarah rubbed her shoulder once more before heading towards the stairs. Just before she climbed them, she remembered something.

"Your brother came round this morning. Well, yesterday morning."

Sookie nodded. "Yeah he came to Merlotte's afterward."

"If he asks, you put an ad in the paper for a roommate and I answered. I hope that's okay that I said that?" She asked hesitantly, not wanting their stories to get mixed up.

Sookie nodded. "I don't want Jason too involved in vampire drama so I don't want him knowing why you're really here. He worries about me…"

Sarah had to bite her lip to stop her from telling Sookie that Jason was already mixed up in vampire drama. Dealing V, or participating in the dealing of V, was the most involved you could get and in the worst way possible.

She bid Sookie another goodnight before climbing the stairs and into her room. She didn't even change her clothes before she fell fast asleep on top of the covers of her bed.

…

Sarah woke at around one o clock in the afternoon. She stretched out her very stiff muscles before sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Sunlight poured consistently into the room, bouncing off the mirror on the vanity table straight into Sarah's face. It made her squint in disapproval before she decided that she would take sunshine over rain any day.

In an attempt to stick with her 'old life' plan, she stripped out of her dirty clothes from the previous night, leaving her in her underwear, and started to stretch into numerous yoga positions. Without the restraint of clothes, she eased into them much more smoothly, her muscles awakening delightfully, pushing her to stretch even further.

Once she felt energised yet relaxed, Sarah headed to the bathroom to have a shower. The reassuring smell of her shampoo and her body wash relaxed her even further and reminded her of her old life. And her old life meant work. She told herself that she would work hard that day and not only catch up on the overdue work but also research clients for Vanessa. Research was key – were they reliable customers? Did they even commit any crime? Were they more involved than they were telling them? It all added up to the defence.

After towel drying her hair, she hurried down to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. She felt a strong wave of relief when she saw that Sookie was not downstairs or outside and had evidently gone to work again. Their conversation in the early hours of that morning had been too close and too revealing for comfort. It had dredged up memories that Sarah wanted to move past and she was sure it had done the same for Sookie. Clearly, neither of them were over the deaths of their loved ones.

A part of her, however, vaguely wondered why she was there for 'protection' if Sookie was never there. Surely she'd be just as safe – technically – in a hotel of some sort if she was fending for herself? Then, at least, she wouldn't feel guilty about invading on Sookie's privacy.

Greedily guzzling down the hot liquid in a matter of minutes, Sarah poured herself another mug of it before heading back to her room and her laptop, where she sat for the next four hours.

…

Sarah felt somewhat excited at the prospect of being able to wear one of her new dresses that night. Sure, the only people who would see it were Eric and Pam, but it made her feel normal. This was what normal 25 year old women would do, only they would have friends to do it with. She somewhat wished that Vanessa was there, since she was the closest Sarah had for a friend. In fact, she _was_ a friend.

She picked out her favourite of the dresses she chose – a black lace dress with elbow-length sleeves and a high neck – and paired it with a pair of simple black heels which made her legs look longer than they actually were. Her hair was straight as it always was when she was dealing with business and her make-up was light since it was still hot and it would only slide off.

After running down the stairs and grabbing her car keys, she slipped her shoes on and ran out of the door to her car. On her way over to Fangtasia, she decided that she would go prepared. Thus, when she drove past a stop-off café on the way, she grabbed a large coffee in the hope that it would keep her more alert and focused. The man who served the coffee gave her a suggestive look as he saw what she was wearing. She shot him her best "no chance in hell" look before walking out and driving the last few miles to Fangtasia. As predicted, the place was busy and there was a small queue beginning to form outside even though it was still relatively early.

Sarah turned the engine off and grabbed her coffee before walking – with something that she hoped was pretend confidence – into the bar, Pam barely averting her attention from the giggly redhead in front of her as she let her through. The redhead on the other hand glared stonily at Sarah when she threw a simple, "Evening, Pam," over her shoulder. Pam, of course, didn't reply but the redhead evidently didn't like the casualness of Sarah's tone. Decidedly ignoring her, Sarah walked straight through the bar and into the office of Eric Northman.

She was not prepared for what awaited her.

A woman with blonde hair was writhing in pleasure on Eric's desk, Eric stood between her legs that wrapped around him tightly. His blonde head was at her neck kissing - no, Sarah amended when she saw the light trickle of blood drizzling down her chest and in between her exposed breasts – sucking attentively as the woman let out breathy moans of pleasure.

She had a good mind to spin around and slam the door, not wishing to see any more of the private altercation. Leave them to it.

Yet another side of her argued that she was on time. He should've planned his feeding schedule correctly. She managed to be there and she was the one who had to travel a distance to get there. So instead, she simply cleared her throat – not daintily or gently like Sookie would, but rather brusquely and assertively.

Their 'teaching session' was about to begin and he was late, after all.

The woman stopped moaning and squealed a little instead, pulling up her halterneck top that had been undone and rested at her waist to cover her chest. Really, Sarah thought haughtily, there was no use being conservative now. The blonde was in a vampire bar and was a vampire meal – conservatism left when she entered the building.

Sarah heard Eric's sigh from across the office, even though he kept his head at the girl's neck.

"I was rather enjoying myself," she heard his say cockily, and she couldn't help the small smirk that appeared on her lips.

"So was she," Sarah provided as a response to the usual witty discussions they had. Banter was what they did and it seemed that they were both still trying to move past the previous night of nostalgia by lightening the mood now.

"Neither of us wanted you to interrupt, then, it seems," he retorted, playing along.

"It _is_ my turn, though."

At this, his head snapped around at her before she could even blink. Clearly, he had misinterpreted her words to mean her turn for feeding on. His mouth, she noted, was only slightly smeared with blood, proving just how old he really was. Younger vampires tended to be messy and insatiable in their feeding, and Eric's tidiness was a testament to his superiority. His eyes, however, were what caught her attention. They were dark with lust, only she felt like it was lust for her which was absurd when he was stood between an attractive blonde's legs with their pelvises grinding together.

The girl also misinterpreted her as well, since she gasped in outright anger. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Her southern drawl was of a particularly high pitch, which made the threat seem a little girlish and moot. She would do nothing about it, they both knew. She was just trying to impress Eric with her confidence.

"I meant my turn for your time. Our lesson?" She looked at Eric as she spoke, and she noticed that the lust was still present which made her shift slightly in her heels.

"What a pity," Eric returned, finally moving out from between the girl's legs. Sarah eyes widened as she caught sight of the bulge in his black jeans. Then again, she reasoned, of course he'd be excited. They were near enough having sex on the desk, and blood and arousal were practically one and the same for vampires.

She frowned at what he said, not fully understanding it until he elaborated, "Since you do smell exquisite."

He then noticed that her attention was not focused on his face as it usually was, but rather between his legs and he smirked, not at all phased by his situation.

She brought her eyes back up to his face and raised an eyebrow. "In your dreams, Northman. Would you like me to come back later?"

He grinned then, looking predatory, before looking at the blonde girl (who was glaring at Sarah) and nodding to the door.

"Leave," he murmured, uncaring as to how the woman must've felt.

Wisely, she didn't argue and simply collected her purse from the chair and walked out, looking coldly at Sarah the whole time. In reply, Sarah simply took a large gulp of her coffee, grimacing when she realised that it had gone too cold for her to enjoy drinking. What a waste, she thought, as she threw it in the trash can by the door. She hoped that their "session" wouldn't run too late and Eric would be able to slip away from work to "protect" her at home.

Once she'd left, she muttered to herself, "I never used to have this problem and now I have two girls on my back."

Eric, of course, heard what she said and his grin only widened a little in response. Of course, she thought. He was proud of his womanising ways. She snorted aloud when she realised that most men would be proud of something like that.

"Two?" Eric questioned, settling in his seat behind the desk.

"Pam's pick of the day," she commented dryly, sitting down with a huff on the sofa in the room. The skirt of her dress fanned out as she did so, splaying out on the black leather. _Lace on leather – it was almost erotic._

Eric seemed to notice this and nodded approvingly. "New dress?"

Sarah nodded, looking down at it. "I thought it was a little more daring than a suit."

Eric stared at her in response, a mischievous glint in his eye, before muttering, "Indeed," as he looked her up and down appreciatively.

Starting to feel a little uncomfortable, she cleared her throat. "Today's practice?"

Eric nodded before saying Chow's name. Chow appeared almost instantly, and Sarah was reminded of the last time Chow had been summoned. She sent a warning look to Eric who caught it, but chose to ignore it.

"Fetch Yvetta," he told the oriental vampire, who only nodded once in reply.

"Yvetta?" Sarah questioned. "Sounds foreign."

She was trying to make conversation to distract herself from the lustful look Eric had given her not only once but twice that night. It appeared that the awkwardness from the previous night had worn off the moment they both set foot in Dirk's house. They both had more important matters to deal with than remembering a past that neither of them wanted to.

"Estonia," Eric told her with a sly smirk. "Our new dancer. She's very flexible."

Sarah couldn't help it – she laughed. It was a little different than her normal laugh since she was still feeling tense from the glances Eric had sent her, but she laughed nonetheless in an attempt to dispel the tension.

"I'm sure she is," she said through her giggles, right as a barely-dressed but attractive woman entered the room.

"Yvetta," Eric began, "this is Sarah. You will sit and do whatever she tells you to."

Yvetta smiled flirtatiously at her boss, sitting in the chair opposite him with more sex appeal than Sarah could ever hope to achieve.

Eric barely glanced at Yvetta, however, and kept his eyes on Sarah. "We shall try memory again." He ignored Sarah's groan and continued, "Practice makes perfect, Ms Williams."

"It's impossible," Sarah told him with a small pout to her lips. She hated when she couldn't do something. She'd tried to manipulate his last human's memory and had failed miserably.

"You're not the sort of woman who gives up when she can't do something, so stop pouting." His voice was stern and left no room for argument – Sarah would try to infiltrate and manipulate Yvetta's memory and that was that.

"Fine," she growled, before standing up and placing her hands on Yvetta's hands. The dancer looked confused and little anxious, but stayed still and made no comment. Sarah looked at her directly, and began the process of the persuasion. Quickly enough, she got hold of Yvetta's mind and tried to go further, probe deeper.

She didn't get anywhere before it slipped.

She huffed in anger and turned to face Eric. "It won't work!"

"You're not focusing enough!" He replied, his voice a little louder than it was before, just like hers was. She thought he was being unrealistic, he thought she was giving up – they both thought the other one was wrong.

"I am!" She argued. "It doesn't come naturally like it does for you! It took me _years_ to learn how to control it at all!"

"Then it will take you years for this! But you _will_ do it."

She glared at him once more for good measure, before turning back to the dancer. "Try to open your mind, if you will. Think really hard about a memory – any memory – and try to make it…accessible."

Sarah knew that it probably wouldn't work anyway. She was no mind reader like Sookie – memory wasn't what she did. Getting Yvetta to think of a memory would not help at all.

Once more, she latched easily onto the part of the blonde's mind that she _could_ latch onto. That part was simple enough. She took another approach this time, probing forward slowly rather than forcefully. Further and further, still keeping control of the part she had easy access to…

She saw a pair of red shoes.

Gasping and smiling, she released whatever hold she had on Yvetta and turned to Eric.

"I saw a pair of red shoes!"

Eric couldn't contain the grin that threatened to escape. She looked so… proud, almost childlike in her accomplishment. It was another first for an emotion – joy. She had never once been joyful in his presence.

He decided that he liked it the best so far, although he mentally noted that he wouldn't mind seeing her aroused. Especially if she wore the lacy black dress she wore that night. Yes, he decided, that was a sight he would love to see.

"As excellent as that may be," Eric said to her with a small smile on his face, "it was only a glimpse. We are trying to get hold of a full memory and twist it. Seeing a pair of red shoes is not much of an triumph, I'm afraid."

Her smile dropped instantly. She had never, _never_, seen anything in a person's mind before. Why was he making it seem like it was nothing? She was proud of it. It was beyond a large step to her. He just didn't understand.

She wondered if that was how Sookie felt all the time – proud and somewhat honoured that she got to see some of the things nobody else ever would.

She couldn't believe Eric's gall. He pushed her to find something that she didn't think was there

and she found it. She found something invisible. She would love to see him do the same. _Asshole_.

"Jaa," Yvetta cut in, noticing the tension between the two starting to rise. "I was picturing the shoes I bought this morning. They're beautiful, no?"

Sarah nodded politely before grasping her hands again.

She was determined to prove Eric wrong. She needed to prove to him that she just as strong mentally – if not more – as he was. She needed to prove that she was equal to him, despite his age and his strength. She deserved a "congratulations" for seeing the image in her head, but she would deserve a fucking medal if she managed to do what he asked of her. What infuriated her more was that he didn't think she could do it, either. So why was he pushing her so hard? Did he do it just because he wanted to see her fail?

No, the rational part of her mind argued. He genuinely seemed to want her to continue practicing until she got it. He was pushing her limits to help her.

She zeroed in on Yvetta's mind once more, trying again to push slowly as she did. Once again, she saw the shoes, but this time she didn't waver once she saw them. She continued to push, trying to see something – anything. She _needed_ to prove him wrong.

She was losing her grip. She was being forced out, practically, but still she tried to push a little further.

She bought them with her mother.

Still, determined, Sarah prodded even more, feeling the familiar burn in her head that had made itself known when she was being a puppet for Stan. It was a warning sign – _quit while you're ahead, Sarah._

But she didn't. She _needed_ to prove him wrong.

When she tried to go even further into the woman's mind, her own head exploded in agony and she was taken back to Godric's living room where Stan had made her practice on various vampires who had pissed him off in some way.

_Tired_. She felt tired.

The last thing she heard before she passed out was Eric's voice in her ear, saying her name.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Sorry, again, for the wait. I hope the long(ish) chapter somewhat makes up for it? I wasn't going to include a flashback, but it sort of wrote itself. Also, I'm ignoring Yvetta's cardiologist remark in this story. She is simply a dancer in Fangtasia (although I have done a one-shot about the remark which you can read if you'd like).**

**Thank you to all those who reviewed – they really get my ass in gear to keep writing, so please keep 'em coming! **


	13. You Escape Like A Runaway Train

**Just a quick note – thank you so much for reviews I've been getting! To the ones I can't reply to (anonymous ones) - thank you! And also thank you to anyone who's still with me! :D**

ooo

"She will be fine," a voice with an accent said. "She looks strong."

"Stop speaking," another voice replied wearily with a sigh.

"Sarah?" A third voice pressed.

"Maybe we should throw some water on her? Or slap her?" The first accented voice spoke again.

Someone growled in reply. _Growled_.

"I can fetch a bucket of water…" A fourth voice asked helpfully, to which the third voice replied, "Leave, Chow, Yvetta."

The first voice – now identified as Yvetta – harrumphed before leaving. Chow's footsteps indicated that he left also.

Somehow, as though it was a sixth sense, Sarah knew that it was Eric hovering over her, saying her name as though that would make her wake up faster. She also could guess that it was Pam who had told Yvetta to be quiet, since there was nobody else left who it could possibly be.

"Well, she finally looks like she's coming around. May I leave now?" Pam asked, since it was clear that the redhead from the queue was much more appealing than watching her Maker worry – _worry!_ – about a human girl who had simple been stupid enough to push herself too far.

"Fine," Eric relented, but before she could walk out of the door, he added, "But I expect your presence if I call you."

Sarah could almost hear Pam's eyes roll.

Struggling slightly, she tried to open her eyes as wide as she could. It almost felt like some unbeknownst force was pushing against them, trying to keep them shut. As though they really, really didn't want her eyes to be blinded by the light of Eric's office.

"Can you hear well?" Eric asked, his voice clear in her ears.

Through the small slits her eyes had made, she could see that Eric was indeed knelt by the side of the couch, his eyes looking somewhat concerned as they roamed over her, lingering on her bare legs a little too long for comfort.

She might've laughed – even when she was practically unconscious in his office, he managed to succeed in ogling her. Only Eric, she thought rather fondly.

"Yes," she told him, her voice slightly raspier than usual. She cleared it as best she could before trying to sit up. Instead of pushing her back down like he probably should have done, Eric only wound his arm around her waist and helped her.

Her eyes were open now, taking in the office that looked exactly the same as it did before. She didn't know why she expected it to look any different. Her brief lapse of consciousness did not change the world in any way, shape or form.

"Your sight?" Eric inquired again, as though she had been in a coma for a decade rather than simply passed out momentarily.

She squinted her eyes at him, much to his concern. "Ma?" She asked, dazed, her lip curling with confusion.

When Eric's eyes widened in shock and exploded with even more concern, she couldn't hold it in any longer and she started to laugh.

His eyes went back to their normal indifferent state, although they gleamed slightly at her joke.

"If you're well enough to make a joke, you're fine," he commented, standing up to walk back over to his desk. "Although I'm sure Celia does not resemble me in the slightest."

Standing up to stand across from where he sat, she frowned as he said her mother's name. She had never mentioned it before, so how did he know? She asked him that very question.

"I wasn't going to let you stay with me or stay with Sookie without a background check."

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. Of course he would do a background check on her. It was such an Eric thing to do. She knew that if their positions were switched, she would do exactly the same. It was unsafe to let anyone unknown into your life, and you should never trust anyone even if they seemed trustworthy. She was simply surprised that he had used modern technology to do it. She would've expected him to hire a PI or something as elite as that to find out all her dirty laundry.

She smiled at his triumphant expression – he seemed curiously pleased by her response.

"No," she agreed with him, "you don't resemble Celia at all. And I'm sure that if anyone said she did look like you, she would go after them with a pair of Manolo's."

To her disbelief, he laughed at that, as though he knew just what her mother was like. As though they'd discussed it at great length and he hadn't just read a sheet of information about her. It was strange to think that the person who had tried to kill her was now laughing at a joke about her mother. How times change, she thought idly, before considering if they really had. Did he still want to kill her? If the Fellowship suddenly lost numbers and lost their momentum, would he kill her for imposing on him? For knowing too much about him? Was she considered a liability?

Hiding these questions in a vault in her mind so that they didn't show on her face, she smiled along with him.

He suddenly sobered up to his usual stern look as he glared at her. The vast change in emotion left her smile drooping also. "Did you do as I said and sleep all day?"

She didn't need to say anything. He already knew the answer.

"I had work to do," she told him in what she hoped was a firm voice. She didn't want to ruin the friendly atmosphere they had by getting into it with him. Plus, she didn't think it was fair of him to assume that she would do exactly as he said when she wasn't under his care. She was her own person and he needed to remember that.

"I told you to sleep," he said harshly, as though she had somehow gravely offended him.

Her face puckered into a frown, not understanding where his anger was coming from. "I needed to work, Eric. I slept enough."

"Did you eat at all?" He demanded to know.

She was about to roll her eyes and tell him that of course she did when she realised that she didn't. She had drunk her coffee and then headed back up to her room where she had typed all day, emailing back and forth with Vanessa. Eating food hadn't even occurred to her.

Her lack of reply made his face turn ever darker. "You expected to be able to push yourself without sustenance or sleep?"

She sighed, running her hand through her hair in a somewhat nervous gesture. "I slept, Eric, just not all day. And I was too busy to think about food. I'll eat tomorrow. Drop it."

She spoke in her best lawyer voice, the one that had made her opponents stop whatever line of questioning they were planning on following. Eric, it seemed, was immune to her tone and simply stood up in such a calm manner that it made her a little frightened.

"You are the one who came to me, Ms Williams, do not forget that. So if I give you an order I expect it to be followed."

Her mouth fell open in shock. "I'm not your slave, Eric. You're doing me a favour."

She had thought they were making progress. Just that night they had been joking with each other, throwing comments back and forth like old friends. He had given up sex for her, for God's sake! She was baffled by his sudden change in behaviour – she didn't like it. It reminded her that he was, indeed, not Godric and would surely kill her if she stepped too far over the line. She only wished she knew where the line was.

Before she could comprehend it, he had stood up from his chair and was leaning over the desk towards her. His face was… well, it was furious.

"I am doing _Godric_ a favour by encumbering myself with your presence. Maybe if you hadn't done so with him, he would still be alive!" He hissed, still so angry with her for not heeding his words that he didn't realise what he was saying.

Whatever retorts that had been on the tip of her tongue faded along with her face as she reeled back from the desk as though she'd been slapped. Her eyes started to burn with the tell-tale sign of tears before she could stop them. She felt sick.

_Because he was right._

She stared at him as he stared back at her unapologetically. She could see in his face that he knew that what he'd said had upset her but he didn't care. He meant every word of what he'd said, just like she did. It was the first time somebody else apart from her had admitted that his death was her fault. She had expected to feel even worse, becoming even more morbid and depressed, so she was surprised to feel nothing more or nothing less than what she did ten minutes ago. She was resigned to the blame she put upon herself, so it made no difference how many others' blame she had heaped on her. Either way, it was her fault.

Her tears vanished when they realised she wasn't going to let them spill. She had decided that she'd wanted a new life – she needed to stop welling up whenever his name was said or someone else affirmed her beliefs.

"You're right," she told him as calmly as she could, and she was happy to hear her voice come out clear and strong. "He would be. But as it were, I did enter his life even though _you_ had left." His eyes darkened considerably when she said that, but this time it wasn't in lust but in anger. "I'll be in the bar for a while before leaving. That way you'll be paying off your debt with him but with minimal interaction between the two of us."

She turned on her heel and left his office, expecting him to shout her back so that he could rip into her for blaming him for it a little also. When she heard nothing of the sort, she headed straight for the bar.

ooo

An hour later, Sarah had forgotten. The bartender – a young looking vampire by the name of Damien – had seen to that; not with glamour, but with vodka. And lots of it.

She had forgotten her altercation with Eric and she had forgotten Godric, just like she'd forgotten that she'd driven to Fangtasia. She dismissed the last one though – she'd have to call for a cab.

"Another one, Miss?" Damien asked charmingly, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

She giggled – who knew why – before nodding. "Just one more, though. I need to get home." Her words slurred together but he seemed to understand since he nodded gleefully before pouring her another vodka with cranberry juice.

"Thank you!" She told him in delight, to which he grinned again, before raising it to her mouth. Before it could reach her lips, however, a hand clamped over the top of the drink, pulling it away.

"That's enough," Eric spoke sternly, having fully removed the glass from her grasp.

"Hey!" Sarah protested, not fully realising who it was who had taken it. "Give it back!"

When Eric only pulled it away further when she grabbed for it, rolling his eyes, she became even more determined to get it back.

"Please!" She whined, sliding off the bar stool to reach up to get it. As she did this, her body slid up against his.

His immediate reaction was to let her have the drink back, to drink herself into a stupor so that she might come crawling to him for help. Yet as her body rubbed against his, he couldn't help but hold the drink further away so that she would do it again.

Sure enough, in her drunken haze, she reached up to get it back, making whining sounds when she couldn't do it. Noticing a lost cause when she saw one, she slumped back into her chair and huffed, unaware of the emotions that had stirred within Eric just seconds before.

"Fine," she mumbled, crossing her arms across her lace-covered chest. She turned to face Damien and smiled happily. "See ya, Damien. Thank you for…" She floundered for a moment before settling on, "helping me."

He chuckled a little, but the glee in his eyes had gone. They were more focused on the way his Sheriff's eyes were glued to the attractive human in front of them both, and the way he'd glared at their familiarity.

"Come," Eric spoke eventually, breaking the silence. "I'm taking you home."

He grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her from the seat, barely giving her time to grab her purse as he dragged her to the door.

"I can get home myself," she protested, not wanting to be with the person who had made her want to drink herself into an oblivion in the first place.

He scoffed. "If you drive home, you shall surely wind up dead." His voice was even and low as it always was, but in it was a peace offering – he wanted her to let go of what he said just like he wanted to forget what she'd said back. If he dwelt on it too much, he would fall once again into the downward spiral of misery that spawned from the idea that it was _his_ fault his maker was no longer 'alive'. Unlike the woman before him, he didn't want to think like that. It was much easier to blame her.

"I wasn't _going_ to drive home," she told him, stumbling slightly in her heels. "I was going to call a cab."

"It would have cost an extortionate amount to get to Bon Temps from here," he informed her as he indicated to Pam (who stood by the door watching the pair as they made their way to her) that he was leaving.

"Ok-_aaay_," she admitted, rolling her eyes. "So I would have gotten someone who was going that way to take me, too."

"Then I would truly have deemed you idiotic," he told her idly but sincerely.

"I'm not idio—Bye Pam!" She waved happily as they passed the blonde vampire who watched them with amusement. The girl, she decided, was much more fun when inebriated.

Sarah stumbled once more when Eric tugged her harder, wanting to leave this establishment quicker than she wanted to. When she stumbled again as he tugged harder, he caught her and swept her up in his arms. From anyone else the gesture would have been romantic, but with Eric it was simply due to his impatience with her slowness. She mildly protested against his shoulder, but when she discovered how warm it was in his arms, her drowsiness caught up with her and she found it very hard to stay awake.

The last thing she remembered before nodding off was the sudden gust of wind in her face and the weightless feeling in her bones.

ooo

She was awoken by loud angry whispers and she recognised them as Sookie's and Eric's.

"What did you do to her?" Sookie hissed and she felt small, warm hands gliding over her face as though feeling her would make her wake up.

"This is all of her own doing," Eric informed her truthfully, his voice lower than hers for fear of waking the woman up. He must've known that she needed to sleep off the inevitable hangover that would make her regret drowning her sorrows.

"Like I'm going to believe that!"

"You should," Eric purred in the voice he usually used for Sookie, only Sarah was surprised to hear that it was missing something. Something that had once been in his voice had gone.

Then again, she was lying practically unconscious for the second time that night after drinking enough alcohol to sink a boat. Her judgement was a little cloudy.

"He really didn't," Sarah told her quietly, her eyes still closed. When she tried to open them, the light from the porch seemed all too bright. She groaned, before asking, "Take me to my room please."

From the quick whoosh of air that went by them, she knew that Eric had obliged. She felt the soft comforter beneath her bare legs and she relaxed substantially when his arms managed to pull themselves out from beneath her without rocking her at all. She nuzzled down into the pillow beneath her and started to fall asleep once more before she heard Eric say quietly to himself, "How did Godric ever put up with you?"

She laughed softly into the pillow. "I asked myself that every day I was with him."

She really had. Every day she had wondered why he was with her of all people – she, who was just a plain woman with no special personality traits. The only thing exciting about her was her 'glitch' and even that wasn't new to a vampire who could do everything she could and more. At the start of their friendship she had expected Godric to discover that she really wasn't anything interesting and leave her, but as they became closer she realised that she made him happy also.

"How was he with you?" Eric asked her after a moment of silence. He sounded as though he wasn't sure if he wanted the answer.

She thought for a moment before replying, "He was gentle. And kind. And generous. He would listen to me drone on about work when he really should have been attending to a vampire locked in the basement or something." She yawned, her eyes still shut tightly. She snorted lightly as she remembered something. "He was _nice_ to Celia. I don't know how he managed it."

If her eyes had been open she would have seen the small smile gracing Eric's lips. At the end of his life – the last few decades in terms of vampire age – that sounded exactly like Godric. Only he would be kind to a woman who, at least on paper, sounded like a nightmare.

When he heard Sarah's breathing even out soon after she'd spoke, he knew she was fast asleep and probably wouldn't remember he was even there the next morning. So after taking her shoes off for her so she wouldn't ruin her feet by wearing the abominations for too long, he left the room with a final glance to her sleeping and inebriated form.

ooo

The following week passed in a similar fashion to the one before it. Sarah woke, she did her yoga, she had her coffee, she ate some breakfast in fear of aggravating Eric again, worked all day before dolling herself up and driving to Fangtasia. Some nights, Eric picked her up and on others he went to Sookie's house to spend the evening there instead. To an outsider, Sarah thought, it would look as though we were a couple since they spent the majority of their time together. While this was completely untrue, they had become what Sarah would call friends in the week they spent together. They bantered constantly, and it grew more playful as the week went on, especially when it involved a third party outsider (either Eric's toys for the evenings or Sarah's admirers). It kept them both on their toes around strangers who were, for lack of a better word, smart asses.

Sarah had also been kept on her toes by the strange Mary-Ann. The woman had persuaded Sookie's best friend Tara to live with her since Sarah was now living with Sookie and, as Tara told her blonde friend, "there's just no room anymore." Sarah felt bad that she was making Sookie choose her over her friends, but somewhere in her heart, she believed that Tara actually wanted to live with Mary-Ann because of a man named Eggs who Tara, according to Sookie, had a thing for. After the incident in Merlotte's, Mary-Ann had become a regular fixture amongst the town, dividing her time between hosting parties that neither Sookie nor Sarah were invited to (not that either would attend anyway) and being in Merlotte's. The manager of the bar, a kindly man named Sam, seemed to also find her strange and was even outwardly hostile towards her. Sarah figured that it had something to do with Sookie being scared about the woman since it was obvious her boss had a thing for her. Apart from her partying and drinking, Mary-Ann had stayed quiet. She didn't speak to Sarah again but whenever Sarah went to the store and she was there, or she went to Merlotte's to keep Sookie company, she would always see Mary-Ann watching her like a hawk. As though the woman could see right through to her very soul. It made Sarah nervous, but she didn't read much into it. When the woman started talking to her again, she would then consider panicking.

In terms of developing her gift, Sarah had never gotten further than she had the time she passed out. The night after, Eric had told her to relax rather than try again and they practiced her usual persuasion and how to gain control more quickly. It had been easier than she'd thought and she could now control someone's actions more effectively, quickly and precisely than before. After that night, Eric had insisted on trying again on Yvetta. While she'd not passed out once reaching the second layer, she had become very light headed and had to stop practicing for that night. The nights that followed saw Sarah become much more comfortable in her memory manipulation and she could now get to the second layer with only a small amount of concentration. Eric was pleased, she was happy to note, but he didn't yet seem impressed. Midway through the week, she'd discovered that she craved his approval more than she'd ever craved anyone's before. Every hint he gave her she listened to attentively because she felt like he knew what he was talking about, despite the fact that he'd never been a human with extraordinary talents. Whatever life skills he passed on, she tried to use in everyday life. She'd even managed to use a few with the cases Vanessa had been emailing. All in all, he'd become a sort of tutor for her. A mentor.

On that Friday night, Sookie had once again been working the night shift at Merlotte's which left Sarah with an empty house. After getting dressed in a daring red number – she figured that since it was Friday she should celebrate the end of a week without any tears or any Fellowship interferences – she sauntered down the stairs and into the car that Eric had provided for her. They both knew she'd be drinking Rioja as the night progressed, mainly because it relaxed her mind and made her mind control slightly easier.

Once reaching the very crowded Fangtasia – Friday was by far their busiest night – she walked past Pam who had smiled appreciatively at her dress and into the main section of the bar. Eric was sitting on his chair that was elevated slightly once more, being there for the viewing pleasure of the patrons. Indeed, a gaggle of men and women surrounded the podium, looking longingly into the eyes of the very bored looking Viking.

When his eyes met hers before trailing down the length of her body, she wanted to fidget. Over the last week as her dresses had made their appearance, he'd eyed her hungrily, as though he wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into her neck. She had been amazed to find that her need for his approval even went as far as that – she somewhat enjoyed his eyes on her. It made her feel… normal. He had his eye on every woman and it made her feel like just that – a woman, rather than a freak of nature or a hard-ass lawyer.

So she smiled at him as she ordered a glass of red wine from Damien – whose flirtatious manner had very suddenly stopped the night after her drunken fiasco – before heading up to Eric's podium.

"May I sit?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

Like he'd done every night, Eric smirked and gestured to the seat next to him. She sat down and crossed her legs, making the red chiffon ride up slightly. She caught Eric's eyes follow the movement, but before she could nudge the dress back down, he was looking at her again.

"I'm afraid our practicing time will be cut short tonight. I must remain here for a few hours to entertain the guests." She wasn't sure if she imagined it or not, but she thought his voice sounded disappointed.

"Of course. I wouldn't want to keep you from your job," she told him, leaning back and sipping at her drink.

They stayed like that in silence for the following few hours, women and men interrupting it every so often offering their necks to Eric. He dismissed them ruthlessly without giving reasons or attempts to assuage his rejection. He simply told them "No" and that was that. Everyone obeyed his command, something which Sarah could only hope to achieve one day.

At around midnight, he eventually sighed and looked over to where Sarah sat. "Come, let's see what your mind can accomplish tonight."

He stood and offered his hand to her, which she took after looking at it dubiously – the last time she'd held onto him he'd dragged her through the bar and into the parking lot, leaving the imprint of his hand in bruise form that had stayed for days. When she thought about how calm and strangely relaxed he'd been, she took it hesitantly, standing up.

He was merely being charming, she realised, when he led her to his office behind the graffitied EMPLOYEE'S ONLY door. She'd never thought of him as charming, but she'd then remembered that physical looks could only get so far with women. Since women and men of all ages flocked to him, she knew he possessed a charming quality. She'd just never seen it.

After calling in Yvetta – several men in the bar groaned at the loss of the dancer – they set to work on trying to pry into her memories. Yvetta had kindly continued to focus on buying the shoes so Sarah didn't have to adapt to a new memory just yet. She had assumed that Yvetta had gradually caught onto what Sarah could do, something which the Estonian woman had accepted with nothing more than a "Cool" whenever Sarah made her walk from one side of the room to another.

Sarah latched on easily – much quicker than she'd been able to do a fortnight ago – before finding the shoes in her memory. She concentrated more and relaxed her mind to see Yvetta's mother clearly in her mind – a greying woman with a pinched face, who wore a dark blue denim jacket. This was where Sarah struggled. Whenever she tried to see further – where the shoes were from, what make they were etc. – she found that she couldn't. Reminding herself that she had the rest of the night to get this as long as she went slowly, she pressed on further, desperate to see where the shoes were from.

Nothing.

Sighing, Sarah sat back, closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She could do this.

Nothing.

Taking a sip of her wine, she tried to stop herself from becoming agitated. It would do no good, she knew. Glancing at Eric who was watching her thoughtfully, she focused even more.

Trying again, she concentrated as much as she could. Slipping past her mother and into…

_Dillard's._

She managed to let her excitement not get the better of her and held onto it for a few moments longer before letting Yvetta have free reign over her mind once more.

"They're from Dillard's," she told the pair. Yvetta smiled and clapped her hands a few times in a congratulatory manner, whilst Eric just watched her.

"Again," he commanded.

Just as she was going to try again, Pam walked through the door without knocking.

"Your telepath is here about a woman in her town," she informed her Maker with a glance at Sarah and her blood red dress. "That color looks delicious on you, by the way."

Sarah rolled her eyes but thanked her before Eric told Pam to send them in.

Sarah stood and shook her head to try and clear it a little. "A woman? Mary-Ann?"

Eric eyed her as she stood at her full height before replying, "I assume so. Although I do not know why she is coming to me. I told her I would inform her of any discoveries made and none of the vampires I've contacted have any idea what that woman is."

Sarah couldn't help but laugh as she walked slowly to the front of his desk. "You know what she's like."

Before Eric's smirk could escalate into a smile, Sookie entered the office, followed by Bill.

"Oh," Sookie said, clearly not expecting Sarah there and dressed up. She eyed the dress before looking at Eric, as though she knew Sarah was trying to impress him a little. Sookie didn't look as though she liked that.

Sarah smiled at her roommate before turning to Eric and telling him, "I need another drink and some fresh air anyway. I'll be back in ten."

Eric nodded with a wave of his hand, effectively dismissing her from his presence. She rolled her eyes at his high-handedness before strolling out. Pam sidled up to her out of nowhere and grinned seductively.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight looking like that," she purred. "If any vampires see you without Eric at your side, who knows what they'll be driven to do."

Sarah laughed at that. She and Pam were not what anyone would call friends, but they enjoyed each other's company to an extent. It was above toleration but not at the stage where they would be sharing secrets with one another.

"I need some fresh air before a drink," she warned the blonde vampire who pretended that she didn't say a thing and walked with a confident swagger to the door. Sarah followed behind feeling as though she paled in comparison out into the night.

The gentle breeze sobered her up slightly as did the clean air that was free of the smell of alcohol and sweat. Sarah led Pam over to the edge of the parking lot away from the crowd of clubbers. She closed her eyes in gratitude, taking in a deep breath. The night air was calm and inviting and she could hear the crickets just like she had the first night she came. How things had changed since then.

But then a shout and the sound of a bottle smashing broke through her relaxed state. Her eyes snapped open to land on a human male punching another man in the face and shouting obscenities at him. Pam sighed in irritation before whizzing off to deal with the issue at hand before it escalated into spilt blood, which would surely attract more vampires outside than Pam needed at that moment.

Sarah turned away from the commotion to look at the night sky. _No stars, of course._

She took one last breath before deciding that she could handle another drink and another crack at Yvetta's mind.

Before she could take one step, though, a cloth covered her mouth with a strong hand over the top and a strong chemical smell invaded her senses. She struggled helplessly, trying to look into the attacker's eyes to gain control but they'd attacked her from behind and were holding her neck in a tight grasp. Her eyelids began to droop heavily as the chemical did its job. She tried one last time to reach behind her and hit her attacker, but the attempt failed miserably when her hand wouldn't even go up to her shoulder. She was too weak.

The chemical finally worked, and Sarah fell limply in Luke McDonald's arms.

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**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Please excuse any errors.**

**I don't know if any of you will be interested in this, but I'll let you know anyway - while this story is told from an omniscient narrator's POV, the main focus has been Sarah thus far. The next chapter, however, will focus on another character primarily and **_**their**_** thoughts. I'm sure you'll all never guess who…**

**Reviews genuinely make my day! Any advice/suggestions? Anything you enjoyed/disliked? Please let me know!**


	14. The Mess Of Roads We're Now On

**I'm **_**so**_** sorry for not updating sooner. I've been busier these last few weeks than the last few months combined! It's just ****CRAZY ****(basically everything that could've happened, did.). I also found this chapter really difficult to write, which didn't help matters. So I hope you can all forgive me? **

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Eric watched Sarah closely as she exited his office, telling him that she needed a fresh drink and some fresh air, and he couldn't help but notice the way the muscles in her toned and tanned legs worked as she moved. The heels she wore – the simple black ones every woman had, the ones which Eric had fucked numerous women who wore them – made her legs look impossibly long. He was, for lack of a better word, transfixed. So much so that he didn't notice Sookie's subtle coughs to gain his attention.

"Eric, are you even listening?" Sookie finally snapped at him, looking as though she couldn't fathom someone not listening to her.

"No," he told her plainly, seeing no point in lying. Whatever she had to say or ask was surely not more important than his ever-growing interest in Sarah Williams.

It had started as a brief flicker of admiration. She had some fight in her that was not obvious like Sookie's was – she was always so defensive – but an inner strength and a maturity most women her age didn't possess. The people they surrounded themselves with were just like them – boring, plain and naïve. Sarah on the other hand had surrounded herself with vampires, and old ones at that. It meant that she had matured and developed not as a human, but rather a human with vampiric qualities. It was a strange combination, especially since there was also something else in her blood. Something that made her smell so appealing and gave her the gift that set her apart from every other girl.

Looking back, he couldn't believe he thought her average in looks and in personality when she first came to Shreveport. Since he had seen her all night every night for the last fortnight, he had found himself trying to think of another woman who was more desirable than her – Sookie was, of course, someone he thought was unique and brave wrapped into one beautiful package. Yet spending a prolonged amount of time with another woman who wasn't Pam was rather eye-opening, he found. He had never really given any woman the opportunity to impress him or interest him since he used them all either for sexual purposes or business and political advancement. Then again, he assumed that even if he gave a normal human woman the opportunity to impress him, they would fail miserably. Sarah and Sookie impressed him because of their talents. Otherwise, the tenacity that they both possessed would not be interesting or a point of admiration at all, but rather a nuisance. Nobody else would get away with it.

The blonde woman in front of him who had started to get used to Eric's advances huffed. "It's about Mary-Ann."

Eric repressed a sigh. He was right. "What about her?"

Sookie crossed her arms in front of her and asked curtly, "Have you found anything?"

Eric had contacted a vampire called Catherine who was the Sheriff of Area 1. While she was only half Eric's age, the woman who had lived in Mary Tudor's court had a knowledge of mythical creatures that was more extensive than any other vampire in North America. Older and more experienced vampires didn't care for such things, but Catherine dedicated her existence to it. She had been studying them since she had met a demon in the eighteenth century and had found that she was not only fascinated by his personality, but also his history and his characteristics.

Catherine had replied that she would look into any mythical creatures being spotted in her Area and would also try to ask around to see if anyone had seen anything suspicious. Since that had only been a week ago, she had yet to reply to him with any answers.

"An inquiry has begun," Eric answered Sookie vaguely, not wanting to give away all his information too soon.

"'An inquiry has begun?' Eric, Bon Temps is being terrorised by this woman! My best friend is more on her side than she is mine! And the other night, Jessica said that she saw the town having an orgy!" Sookie exclaimed, scandalised.

Eric couldn't help but smirk and remark, "Sounds delicious."

When Sookie seemed beyond words, Bill replied in an exasperated tone, "Have you found anything, or haven't you?"

Eric's smirk vanished as quickly as it had made itself known. "My contact hasn't yet replied, Bill."

He saw the split moment of indecision on Bill's before all caution was thrown to the wind. "Maybe you should change your contacts if they're taking so long," Bill commented idly, with a hint of condescension that irked Eric more than his words.

While Eric wanted to do nothing more than stand up and start a fight with Bill – then again, he reasoned, it wouldn't be much of a _fight_ - years of self-control kept him in his seat and smirking. "I could always tell her that her assistance is no longer necessary…"

Bill closed his mouth when Sookie shot him a look that told him to cool it and snapped, "Bill!"

Eric almost laughed – being silenced by a human woman was not something that should've been done in the public eye. He would allow no human – female or otherwise – to ever belittle him like Sookie often did of Bill. When Sookie was his – it was strange, he thought, that he didn't seem all that interested in obtaining her as he used to be – he would ensure that she was never to embarrass him publicly like she had just done to Bill.

Sookie turned to look at Eric once more with a stern look on his face. "I appreciate you taking the time to call someone about this whole thing, but if you could hurry her response along any…"

She trailed off since Eric had stood up and walked to the door. He could feel something within him akin to alarm coming from his child. She was almost panicked, he felt, and what made Pam panic was definitely of interest to him.

He heard Sookie's shouts about his rudeness but he couldn't bring himself to care. He rushed to the exit of Fangtasia and outside, coming face to face with a Pam whose face had contorted into a slight frown.

"Sarah," she started, getting straight to the point. "I went away for two minutes and someone took her. I can smell humans, and I found this." She held up a piece of cloth that reeked of the sickly-sweet and distinguishable scent of chloroform. "I didn't see or hear anything so whoever took her was quick."

A thousand thoughts went through his mind – was it the Fellowship? If so, how could he infiltrate their church once again without it ending in disaster like last time? Would Isabel want to know? How could he have been so stupid as to not have anticipated something as simple as this? – but he found that the most pressing matter was the fact that she could be killed. He reasoned that he was only invested in her life because of Godric, and the only reason why he wanted her alive was because she was fascinating but he knew that the reason why he didn't want her to die was because she had so much more to give. With his help, she'd only just begun to scratch the surface of her talent. If she continued to practice as hard as she had been, she would possibly be able to control mind more effectively than he could. She had so much hidden power and talent that even Sookie didn't possess, and he couldn't wait to witness it unfold in a culmination of her hard work. The end product would definitely be a sight to behold.

At the same time, both vampires guessed, "The Fellowship." Eric spoke in a quiet tone yet Pam could hear the anger beneath it, whereas Pam openly expressed her weariness in regards to the group. They would never be happy until all vampires were exterminated, and even then they would only find another scapegoat to unload their issues onto.

"The church again? Dallas?" Pam questioned, already latching onto her makers train of thought.

Eric didn't respond since he was wondering whether or not they would actually go there again. Dallas was a long way and Eric could easily catch them up and kill them. He also knew the church in Dallas from his previous experience and they knew that. No, he realised, they would choose somewhere close-by and as secure, if not more so than their Dallas church. He just needed to find out where.

"Pam, get Chow to find out which churches in the area are Fellowship ran," Eric barked at his child, already moving swiftly back to his office to dismiss Sookie and Bill.

As soon as he entered the room, he set about closing down his computer and placing any important files in his safe.

"Eric, I am trying to talk to you!" Sookie snapped at him, annoyed that he wasn't listening to a word she said.

"Something's come up," he told her vaguely, not wanting to go into detail. Sarah may have been staying with Sookie and the blonde may like the woman, but if Sookie knew about it, she would want to help. After last time's failure that had not only inevitably caused Godric's death but also led him to nearly meet his final death at the hands of an idiotic human, he was apprehensive to let Sookie anywhere near this. He would find a way to do it without her help. Besides, once they sat down to interrogate Sarah – which they would eventually do – she would be able to tell them to let her go. Once that happened, he just needed to be there to help her along in case anything happened. She was smart enough to get out, or at least he hoped so.

"Eric, Bon Temps is fallin' to pieces! We don't know what to do if we don't know what she is! But she is not human, I can te—"

"When I hear something, I will tell you. Until then, leave," he eventually told her sharply, tired of her selfishness. Of course, she didn't understand that it could possibly be a life or death situation but even so, didn't she realise that he was busy? That other, more important things required his attention? That although he wanted to sleep with her, she was not the centre of his universe? No person ever would be.

Sookie's face immediately contorted into anger as he finally unleashed some of the irritation towards her that had been slowly building over the last week.

She let out a puff of air through her nose before snapping, "Fine!" and grabbing Bill as she left the room. It wasn't that he didn't believe that her town was under threat of becoming a large orgy or whatever she said, but he had bigger problems.

Like the fact that he had failed Godric. It was the last thing he ever asked him to do and he hadn't done it to the best of his abilities. He'd been too focused on the shiny new plaything that could access a person's mind to put as much effort into protecting her as he should have. It shouldn't have been difficult – just keep her with him at all times and then she'd not only have the protection of him but also Pam. Why didn't he tell her to stay and get a waitress to get her her drink? He would've enjoyed seeing her reactions to the things Sookie was saying – Sarah, like the blonde telepath, was opinionated and took pleasure in letting everyone know what she had to say. A quality of a great leader, he thought. Would Sarah have agreed with Sookie that Eric should've been helping out more in Bon Temps? Or more importantly… why did he care what a human thought about something? Then again, Sarah wasn't exactly human.

Eric sat down gracefully on his chair, lifting his phone and dialling a number that was as familiar as the back of his hand.

When the person on the other end answered – a different voice to the one that usually answered, but also the one he was expecting – he responded with a tight, "Isabel," before launching into the issue at hand.

ooo

The tanned, Spanish Sheriff walked elegantly yet urgently into the now emptied bar, commanding the attention of the few people left in the room. Instead of the white suits she usually wore, Isabel wore a camel coloured skin-tight dress that indicated that she had probably left a party of sorts to be available in the search for Sarah, who was not only her friend, but also the friend of the man who'd made her who she was today.

"Isabel," Eric approached her smoothly, with more grace than even she had. "Thank you for coming so quickly."

Isabel smiled a grin that didn't reach her eyes. But then, she was in a situation she'd hoped to never be in. She too, felt like she'd failed Godric – Eric could see it in her eyes.

"Anything for Sarah," she replied, meaning every word. "She's like a daughter to me."

Eric set about telling Isabel everything that Pam and Chow had found out regarding Fellowship churches. The nearest one was in the city, and the one after that just outside the limits. Eric figured that they'd use the one just outside the city limits so that they would be able to do whatever things they would like to do, such as burning a vampire in sunlight or kidnapping an innocent human. Between Eric and Pam, they had decided that they would try that church first.

Isabel agreed, and told two of the vampires she had brought with her to go there now to scout it out. They nodded and left whilst Isabel continued to speak.

"Are you sure it is the Fellowship?" Isabel clarified, as though she didn't know the truth inside her.

Eric replied, "Yes," even though he wasn't certain. They did, however, seem like the likeliest culprits and Steve Newlin had called Sarah not two weeks ago. He hadn't been alive for a millennia to not be able to make correct assumptions.

"We shall leave tonight, then. Early," Isabel declared assuredly, but only Eric saw the glance she threw him asking if that was acceptable. When he nodded his head minutely, she and the remaining vampires she'd brought with her walked through the EMPLOYEE'S ONLY door like they lived there, leaving only Eric, Pam and Chow left in the bar.

"I don't like waiting," Pam commented almost lazily, uncrossing her arms as she walked closer to her maker.

Eric didn't like waiting, either. Even though Sookie had lasted longer in the church that Sarah would have to, Eric didn't want to push his luck. Besides, it seemed like Steve and Sarah were fairly well acquainted, judging from their telephone conversation two week earlier. Perhaps he wouldn't want her to escape "her fate" like she had when she was with Godric. Or, he countered, they were hoping that whatever vampire was looking after her now would follow in Godric's footsteps and offer themselves. If that was the case, then Eric was _not_ prepared to do such a thing for anyone other than Pam. It was pointless considering it, however, since it wouldn't come to Sarah dying. He was far too intelligent to be outwitted by the Fellowship of the Sun, whose main purpose in life was to advocate hatred and suffering.

"Do you trust her?" His child's voice broke through his reverie, distracting him from the idea of someone with so much potential dying like a common human.

"No," Eric admitted; he only trusted a few people in the world, Pam being one of them. "But Sarah does and Godric did, and that is enough."

Pam nodded, before pointing out how close the sun was to rising. They needed to rest well if they were to exert their energy that evening in an attack against the Fellowship. If all went well, Sarah would've managed to do at least part of the work herself and Eric and Isabel would simply be there to defend her whilst managing to not get staked.

Eric wandered into the room where he and Pam rested when they didn't return to their individual houses, and laid on the comfortable, large bed.

No, he told himself before relenting to the inevitable sleep that awaited him, she wouldn't die yet. He had so much to do with her.

ooo

That night as the vampires awoke earlier than they usually would, Eric felt exhilarated at the prospect of something that wasn't filing papers for the bar or getting to the bottom of petty vampire crime that occurred in his area. If the circumstances were a little different and the stakes were not so high, he would be excited. As it were, however, he was simply focused on getting Sarah out of the church like Godric would have wanted him to. That was, after all, why he assigned Eric the task of looking after her.

The vampires met, ready to leave, in the bar not five minutes after waking. Only a few words were spoken between them – nobody had anything to say at that moment. Two of the vampires were too focused on getting Sarah back and the remainder of them were hoping for some form of a fight. In Pam's eyes, if the Fellowship got away with this again with nothing more than losing a captive, the whole 'rescue mission' they were on would be pointless.

To some extent, Eric agreed. He could feel that the Fellowship were growing too powerful, and if someone didn't take the wind out of their sails, they would eventually have the power to attempt to eradicate vampires from the Earth. They were gaining more and more followers each day as the newspapers published propaganda in the form of vampire hating. The small number of vampires who were as violent and as cruel as the Fellowship thought all vampires were, were giving their entire species a bad name. Their transgressions were being published and only encouraging more humans to side with the cult and their leader – Newlin.

Alas, it was too early to launch a form of attack on the Fellowship. Vampires needed to start being presented in a positive light, as people who wanted to contribute to the world just they had done for centuries, if their power on Earth was to remain strong.

The vampires poured into their respective cars – Eric and Pam in the Corvette, and Isabel and her men into a sleek Mercedes – before driving off towards the church that they all hoped harboured Sarah.

Eric had decided to let Fangtasia remain open, under the management of Chow for the night. A few tourists and clubbers slowed their journey down slightly as they sped down the road (half-naked women and men stumbled on the road every so often, clearly already drunk), but didn't succeed in managing to divert their attentions in any way. They were all thinking, strategizing their plan in their heads in order to make their 'rescue mission' as simple and as clean cut as possible. None of them hoped that it turned out like the last time, especially Eric and Isabel, who both had the strange feeling of déjà vu.

It didn't take long to get to the church, Eric found, since he was consumed with ideas and scenarios that could happen that night and afterwards. Would their presence only encourage them to do something drastic to Sarah? What about after they collected her? They knew where she was. She'd have to move, go somewhere new, somewhere with high security.

All Eric knew for certain was that he'd sooner die than fail Godric once more.

The cars stopped about a block away from the actual church for fear of being seen and their plan ineffective. The plan was that Eric and Isabel would look for Sarah since they were so used to her scent and could find it quicker than anybody else could, and Pam and Isabel's guard would be their defence. It was simple, but Eric was counting greatly on Sarah's help and participation in her escape. She was smart enough to at least attempt it.

Eric and Isabel were the first vampires to emerge from their respective vehicles since they were the two who were most concerned with Sarah's wellbeing. They glanced at each other, both of them thinking the exact same thing – Sarah _needed_ to be out of there that night. And it was a mutual understanding between them that they'd put aside whatever differences they held between them, not only for the sake of Sarah, but also of Godric. Eric's maker and Isbael's Sheriff loved them both, so it only seemed fit that they should tolerate each other.

The group of vampires quickly sped off towards the church, stopping when they could see the building but the guard at the doors couldn't see them. There were three guards at the front entrance, with two stood at either end of the grassy area in front of it, clearly lookouts. A week old vampire could take them on solo if they so wanted – did Newlin really think that these boys would be able to hold any vampire back? Evidence to his delusional state of mind, Eric thought.

Any doubt of whether Sarah was at the church or not was eradicated as soon as the wind blew in their direction. Her unmistakable stable smell hit Eric and Isabel like a ton of bricks, which relieved them both. They were, at least, in the right place. Sharing another look, they started to move forwards. Pam followed her maker and Isabel quickly and silently and opened her mouth to speak. However, before a sound to escape her lips, both Eric and Isabel held a hand up to stop her.

They both smelt and heard the same thing – a Fellowship congregation around a fire, where Sarah's scent was present. Why was she near fire? For the first time since Godric was locked in the Fellowship basement, Eric felt urgent and somewhat…concerned. It seemed that Sarah hadn't managed to escape on her own like Eric had wished.

They vampires both rushed off towards the back of the church avoiding the sight of the guards easily, the rest of the vampires following, all of them having smelt the fire and heard the cheering and hollering.

They stopped before they rounded the corner to where the congregation stood, not wanting to give away their positions just yet when they didn't know their strategy anymore. They didn't know how many people were there or where anything was positioned… they were going in blind.

Eric glanced around the brick wall and was consumed with disbelief at the sight before him. It reminded him of a time long ago, when he toured the world with Godric – namely Sixteenth century England and the lack of blood available at that time.

Sarah stood, chest heaving and eyes watering, handcuffed to a pole, surrounded by wood that was being set on fire as the congregation of 'holy' people cheered for her death.

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**Sorry, once again! As I said before, this was really hard to write for some reason, so I hope it wasn't too bad after I made you wait for weeks! I suck, I know. I just hope this chapter didn't since a lot of you were looking forward to an EPOV. There will be more, I promise.**


	15. Fold Your Wings You'll Need Them One Day

**Quick note: Luke was not the one to bomb Godric's nest. He is still alive and will play a part in this version of True Blood. **

**I'd just like to say THANK YOU to everyone who is still reading, especially to those who are reviewing. Honest to God, seeing my hits go up and getting emails are the highlights of my day.**

When Sarah returned to consciousness, the first thing she could feel was the ceaseless pounding in her head, as though someone was beating her skull with a baseball bat. She'd thought her headaches had been bad after Godric's death after she'd not slept or eaten, but she'd been wrong – her head was now in agony. She took a quick check of the rest of her body to see if anywhere else felt like it was going to fall off. She found that her wrist hurt a little and her mouth felt somewhat smothered but apart from that she felt reasonable.

She was surprised to discover that she could remember everything that had happened without any difficulty. She could remember the fight that had separated her and Pam, and the sickening smell emanating from the cloth that someone had forced in front of her face. After that, however, was a blank - from the sickening smell to the sickening pain. From the films she'd seen, she'd been expecting her memory to be hazy and fragmented, so it was a small mercy that she could remember.

Opening her eyes took a little effort. They ached along with her head and the small rays of light that she saw as she slowly opened them only made the headache – could it even be called a headache, she wondered? Headache sounded far too trivial – much worse. Yet once she managed to open her eyes again, she wouldn't want to shut them even if her head was in pain because she saw the man that, she thought, had inevitably killed Godric.

Steve Newlin's face spread into a sardonic smile that made Sarah's stomach churn. He alone had the capacity to make her head hurt even more since it suddenly filled with searing anger aimed at him. If he wasn't alive, Godric might've still been alive and happy, since Newlin would not be trying to convert everything in sight to being anti-vampire. It disgusted her. Not only that, she thought, but his narrow-mindedness was the reason why she was there, kidnapped and seemingly bound to a chair.

"Welcome back, Sarah," he said in what someone oblivious might consider a happy tone. Not her – she thought it was taunting. He had plans for her, she knew, and he was excited by them. His mockingly cheery voice made her acutely aware that the possibility of her dying that day was probable.

That day… was it even daytime still? Was it still the night that this had all happened or had she been knocked out cold for hours? She looked around her, not only trying to find some form of telling sign that would reveal the time of day but also looking for a means of escape. Any windows or doors that would help her get out quicker. She found that the room she was in only had one door and there were two guards stood by it. Then again, it would be easy to get past them. She would simply tell them to let her out.

In fact, why was she still sitting around? Feeling stupid but knowing Steve was more stupid for not realising that she would do this, she locked eyes with Newlin and was about to tell him to let her go before she realised that the smothering on her lips was tape. They'd made it so she couldn't speak. He wasn't as idiotic as she'd thought.

She initially thought about trying the mental invasion she'd been practicing with Eric before she realised that what they'd been practicing would be of no help to her at all – how would accessing a ridiculous memory of Newlin's help her escape? He wouldn't even be projecting like Yvetta had been. She felt a surge of anger towards Eric – why had he been teaching her ridiculous things like memory manipulation? What good would that do, ever? Why hadn't he been teaching her some form of self-defence, whether it be mental or physical? There was _nothing_ she could do to get out. She was left at the mercy of Newlin as a normal human whom the Fellowship considered to be a mutant vampire. Yes, she thought, her death was very probable.

She didn't reply to Newlin since she couldn't speak, but she knew that her horror at being powerless in the situation showed on her face from the way his eyes lit up. He was enjoying her pain. Hadn't he already caused enough? Wasn't he satisfied enough with proving that he could essentially kill one of the oldest vampires in North America? When would it ever be enough for him?

Steve spoke again, and with each word he uttered, he made Sarah's head hurt even more and made her feel sick. "I know your head is in a lot of pain right now. You can thank Harry here for that." He gestured to the guard on the right. "And I also know that you're thinking of ways you can get out of here." His voice started to get patronising and childish, as though he was entertaining a five year old who wanted to fly. "Don't bother. You won't. Not this time."

Sarah did her best to glare at him, but the pain in her head was too great. Harry had a lot to answer to, she thought, trying to glare at him also. She would get out. She would give everything she had to escaping the clutches of Steve Newlin once more. He still had to pay for his part in Godric's death at her hands. She needed some form of revenge on him to feel some satisfaction. He needed to suffer for everything that he'd done. She hoped Eric would play a part in that section of her plan – she was pretty sure that a Viking would be able to think up some imaginative ways to torture and then kill someone.

Eric. Would he come for her, she wondered? Or was he glad to finally get her out of his hair? He'd hated her presence when she first arrived…maybe nothing had really changed. A part of her objected to that – they _had_ changed. They were friendly and respectful of each other. If she was being honest with herself, she'd grown to like him. He was entertaining and funny in a sarcastic way that she'd come to appreciate. He was intelligent and wise like Godric had been, only Eric seemed to _live_ more than Godric had. Eric had a _joie de vivre_ that Godric never had; he appreciated every woman that walked by him, appreciated everything that one of his servers at the bar would do for him. He might not have shown it, but Sarah saw. He loved life, even if he wasn't really alive. She was sure that she could ask him if he'd been to any country or any place in the world and he would say that he'd been. He'd seen things in the past and the present that Sarah could never dream of seeing, not even on her promotion salary. It was unlikely for any lawyer to start earning big time money until they were past the age of fifty. It would be a while before she'd be able to tour the world. That was, she reminded herself, if she even lived past the next few hours.

"You're a danger to society," Steve spat out at her, bringing her back to the present. "You don't deserve to live. You're a mutant _devil_." He rose from his chair in anger and stalked towards her like a lion would stalk its prey, only Steve didn't inspire fear inside Sarah. He never would. She just saw him as an evil little boy who had issues that would never be solved. "You'll be made an example of in just a few short hours. Everyone's waiting." His face went from fuming to excited in only a second, only highlighting the fact that he was mentally deranged.

She eventually registered what he'd said. She was to be made an example of? What did that mean? A part of her, of course, knew. It meant that she was going to die in a few hours. Her life would be over.

After Godric had died, she'd actually been looking forward to death so that she'd be able to join him. She was surprised to feel that she didn't want to die anymore. She was actually scared at the prospect of dying. Why was she not welcoming it like she always thought she would? What had changed in only a few months?

"You and your fucking friends cheated us out of our last bonfire, so we're going to have another one, where _you _are the guest of honor," Steve continued, not even looking at her anymore. He appeared to be looking ahead, into some form of future where she would be dead. His eyes were alight with anticipation.

"Harry will bring you out soon. I hope you can spend your last minutes repenting. I'll send a pastor in so that you can confess your sins. I'd like to say that God would forgive you, but he doesn't forgive the devil." And with that, Steve Newlin left the room – prison – where Sarah would spent the remaining hours of her life.

ooo

Sarah, Harry and the other guard and Pastor Richard sat in the room in silence for the entire time they were in there. Sarah couldn't physically say anything, Harry and the other guard didn't seem capable of formulating words, and the Pastor who had introduced himself and then not spoken didn't seem to want Sarah to confess anything. It wasn't like she could anyway with the tape over her mouth.

Sarah tried to remain numb to everything lest she truly realise that she would never again see her family, or Vanessa, or Isabel, or Eric. Hell, she would even miss Sookie. She had so much she wanted to do. She wanted to prove to Celia that she could do well professionally and still be a "lady". She wanted to be able to do more with her 'talent', with Eric's guidance of course. She wanted to learn how to cook proper food, not just shove something in the oven.

She stopped thinking of all the things she would miss or regret when it hit her: she was giving up. Was she really just handing herself over to Newlin? She was stronger than that. She would try her hardest to get out of this situation. She didn't want to succumb to Steve Newlin. Godric and Eric wouldn't want her to either.

She let out a sound behind her tape, trying to get the Pastor's attention. He looked up, surprised that she'd 'spoken', before getting Harry to unlock the handcuffs that held her hands to the chair she sat on. He then handed her a notebook and a pen, silently telling her to write down whatever it was she wanted. She briefly considered trying to use physical force to get out, but since her ankles were still cuffed and it was three men (two of which were burly and muscular) against one woman.

Once one of her hands was free, it hit her. How senseless were these people? Keeping her plan secret, she started to write something on the paper, keeping it hidden from the Pastor who looked bored out of his mind. Once she'd finished, she handed it to him. As soon as his hand took the paper, she quickly brought her hand to her mouth and ripped the tape off. It felt like she'd ripped her lips off with it, but she ignored the pain since she only had a few seconds to do what she had to do.

Eric' training had come in handy in the sense that it made her skill more efficient and her more adept at using it. She managed to bring all of them under her control quickly and muttered urgently, "Un-cuff me, unlock the door in the way that everyone would expect you to, and let me out of this room without causing a scene and without coming after me. Oh, and tell me how to get out of here without anyone seeing me."

All three burst into motion as soon as she'd finished. Harry walked behind her to un-cuff the other hand and her legs, the other guard started unlocking the door and punching buttons into a wall-pad while Pastor Richard started to rattle off directions as to how to get out without running into anymore guards. She listened intently as she flexed her wrists and ankles like they did in the films, needing them to be mobile and useful in her escape plans. Once he'd finished, the other guard stepped out her way and let her out of the room.

Following Richard's instructions, she ran down the corridor, turning left at the end. Nobody was there. Good. She continued to run in the direction Richard told her to, never once coming across a person. _Thank you Richard_, she thought as the adrenaline coursed through her. She needed to get out before anyone decided to check on her. Also, her hold on the three in the room would wear off in a matter of minutes, giving her even less time to get out. It was like a maze, she found. Every corridor led into another one that looked exactly the same as the last. It was like something from a bad horror movie where the heroine just ran mindlessly in circles. She refused to be the mindless one – she would be able to control and manipulate anyone she came across to do what she wanted.

Eventually, she came across the door Richard had told her would lead her out to the back garden, and she burst through it.

Straight away, her heart plummeted. Not only did someone grab her and shove their hand over her mouth (this time without a cloth), but she also saw about a hundred members of the Fellowship standing around in a circle, looking towards her.

_Definitely like something out of a horror movie._

She immediately started struggling, trying to scream "Let me go!" to no avail. It wasn't working. The person behind her, who was much stronger than she was, started to guide her towards the circle as she thrashed about helplessly. The people in the circle just stared at her, some of them shouting evil remarks and holding up their crosses and their necklaces, muttering prayers to save her soul. She didn't focus on them. She just focused on getting out of the grasp of the man behind her.

She did start to focus on the circle once they parted to reveal a pole with handcuffs attached and wood surrounding it. Some of the people from the circle were splashing kerosene on it, which made her cry out. Steve said that they would get their bonfire. She couldn't believe it - _they were going to burn her._

She struggled harder, tears starting to form in her eyes. Her great plan hadn't worked. She'd been so close, and yet they'd been expecting her. What had happened?

She realised that neither she nor Richard had accounted for cameras. They must've seen her coming. Were the empty corridors usually full and Newlin had simply decided to make her think she'd escape, just to make her fall even greater? Was he really that cruel? _Of course he was._

Steve emerged from the crowd, grinning maniacally. "You're just in time, Sarah."

His hand came up to reveal a strip of tape like the one she'd had on her face before, and he strategically managed to place it on her mouth once more without the man behind her's hand leaving her mouth. She wasn't able to speak again. She would burn in silence, it seemed.

"Thank you, Luke," Steve said to the person behind her. "You seem to be the only one that can handle this vermin."

Had this Luke been the one to grab her at Fangtasia? Had she been screwed over by the same man twice?

Steve handcuffed her to the pole, as she screamed expletives at him. She would not go down without a fight. She pulled on the metal, even though it cut into her skin and made it raw, and shouted at the crowd, shouting at anyone who would listen to her inaudible words. Yet people didn't listen and her muffled noises were drowned out by the crowd cheering for her death.

Humanity had, apparently, returned to medieval times.

She saw Steve coming forward with a lighter, and she only started to pull on the cuffs more, trying to slip her hands out of them or bend forward to her hands to rip off the tape. Nothing would work.

"Thank you for coming, ladies and gentlemen!" Steve hollered, to which people cheered. "This mutant devil has managed to evade us for quite some time, I'll admit, but that only makes tonight even more special. Tonight, she will join the heartless and dead spawn of Satan who I heard committed suicide after realising that his life with her was worthless and that _he_ was worthless."

She stopped screaming when she realised that he was talking about Godric, trying to provoke and upset her even more. It worked. How dare he talk about him like that? What gave him the right?

"Now we'll watch her join him," he spoke again, quieter this time.

Then he dropped the lit lighter onto the kerosene dripping wood.

Her screams started up again as the smoke started to hit her, making her want to cough. It was torturous since she couldn't due to the tape. Maybe, she thought, she would suffocate before burning. She was close to being sick at the smoke inhalation already, and the flames were making her drip with sweat. They were coming closer and closer to her, heat hitting her like a bus. It was… horrible. And she knew it would only get worse. The flames crept even closer as the crowds cheered in approval. She moved her feet in, trying to prolong the fire reaching her.

Yet they did. It wasn't long before she felt a flame touch her foot, and she screamed in agony. She'd stepped on her flat-irons before and scolded herself on her iron or on a candle so she knew what it was like for something hot to touch her skin for just a moment. Yet when the flame touched her foot, she couldn't pull it away as quickly as she'd wanted to. It just kept on hitting her foot and then her ankle as she writhed in pain and screamed for them to stop.

The smoke eventually became too much for her body to handle, especially since she couldn't cough to try to expel some of the smoke from her lungs. The last thing she saw before she passed out for the second time that day and for the last time in her life was Steve Newlin's face turn from exhilarated to panicked in all of one second.

ooo

She was dead. She couldn't be alive, since she didn't feel anything. No pain in her foot and her ankle, no baseball bat hitting her head. If she was alive, she'd hurt, she was sure.

So why could she hear Eric's voice saying her name?

"Sarah," he said again and again, trying to get her attention it seemed. "Wake up before Isabel has a heart attack."

She then heard a female voice scoff and laugh slightly at the idea of a heart attack. Isabel? Why were Eric and Isabel dead?

She was being ridiculous. Of course they weren't dead. Nothing would kill them two. Eric, especially, was like a cockroach. He would survive because that was what always happened.

Which meant that she, too, was alive. But how?

She slowly opened her eyes and was happy when she found that no lights were around to hurt her head. She was also happy to see Eric watching her intently – she really was alive.

She tried to sit up and found the action remarkably easy. Surely she would be rigid and stiff, and surely her foot must've been in pain?

"She's awake, Isabel," Eric murmured, still looking at her curiously.

"Oh, Sarah," she heard Isabel exclaim. "I am so happy that you're okay." Sarah looked to her left and saw Isabel, with a wheel in her hands.

Ah, Sarah realised. They were in a car, and she and Eric were in the backseat as Isabel drove. The car looked spacious, as though it could fit in more people than three. The windows were tinted, she could tell, which made her feel even safer. Nobody would be able to see her in the state she was surely in.

"Why am I…?" She couldn't finish. Why was she what? Not dead? Not in any form of pain at all?

Eric didn't answer and kept on staring at her as Isabel answered her question. "Eric gave you his blood."

She understood immediately. Godric had given her his blood once following a particularly violent Fellowship attack and it had made her feel invincible. She'd been healed from her minor injury straight away and she'd felt the effects for a week afterwards. That had only been a tiny amount, since Godric didn't want to tie her to him in any way in case she ever wanted to end their relationship. She'd told him several times that she'd not wanted to ever do that, but he didn't listen.

"I see," Sarah said quietly. She looked back at Eric, hopefully with the same amount of intensity that he looked at her with. "Thank you."

He smirked slightly, which she interpreted as a "you're welcome," but she could've been mistaken. She usually was when it came to him.

"I assume that you're not in any pain?" Isabel asked from the front seat, breaking the staring contest between the two in the back.

"No," Sarah replied honestly. "I feel kind of great, actually. How much did I have?"

She looked at Eric when he spoke for the first time since she'd opened her eyes. "Your injuries were severe. I gave you as much as was necessary."

She nodded in understanding before lying back down again. Her head rested on the cold leather seats uncomfortably and she shifted slightly, trying to find the best angle. Her discomfort must've shown on her face since she heard Eric sigh and felt his hands twisting her around and placing her head on his lap. She would've protested, but it was comfier and she did want to rest a little. Despite feeling amazingly healed, no amount of vampire blood would ever get rid of the memory of being burned alive or a near death experience. Sure, she'd survived many attacks from the Fellowship before, but none of them have ever come as close as it did that night. It would've been traumatic for anyone, regardless of how many times it had happened. She was sure that after a talk with Isabel and a cup of coffee she'd feel a little happier, but it would take time to fully get over it. She needed to immerse herself in work and practicing her mind manipulation so that she'd be distracted from it. That was the only way she'd be able to deal with it in her own way – slowly but surely forgetting about it. Besides, she needed more practice in case it ever happened again. The chances of that happening were high – they were out for revenge once more, and their kidnapping had proven that no matter how far Sarah ran, she'd never be safe. It wasn't that Eric wasn't doing his job – she was positive that without him, they'd have killed her weeks earlier – it was just that the Fellowship were growing in numbers and in resources. Sarah was certain that they had some of the police in their grasp, allowing them practically free reign over the law. It was a worrying thought.

Sarah had closed her eyes against the thought of a world dominated by vampire hatred, trying to get it out of her mind when she felt Eric hand on her head. He moved it along her hair, stroking it almost tenderly. Yet something about it managed to convey that he was glad to have her back. Had he been worried? Clearly he'd been concerned enough to fetch her. Perhaps he liked her company just as she liked his? Was that such a wild idea?

With the soothing strokes of Eric's hand and the gentle rumbling of the car, Sarah was swiftly lulled into a deep sleep that Newlin didn't appear in once.

* * *

**I hope you liked that chapter even though it was really just getting Sarah's side of the kidnapping. I'd like to point out that Sarah will **_**not**_** just get over her near death experience like Sookie seems to. Sorry, but if I was chased through a graveyard by a mass murderer, and nearly raped, and nearly killed by a bomb, and nearly drained by the love of my life, and found out I was a fairy, I think I'd be a little shook up. Just sayin'. Sorry, rant over. It's just something that kind of irks me a bit. *deep breath***

**Reviews are lovely and actually make my life complete. True dat. **


	16. Different Names For The Same Thing

**I'm so sorry this has taken so long. Technical difficulties definitely played a large role (my laptop hates me as does the DSL, or whatever the hell it is), but the main reason why it's taken for-fucking-ever to post this is because this was really hard to write, for some reason. I couldn't seem to get into it, so if it seems a little awkward, that's why. No matter how many times I "went back to it," it never seemed right even after re-writing it. So I just ended up posting. *sigh***

**I'm also sorry for not replying to last chapter's reviews. I promise I usually do, and I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again.**

* * *

Someone was next to her on the bed. She could feel the weight of them on the mattress, forcing it down slightly on one end. Instead of worrying her like it probably should, it made her feel safe. Cocooned in the idea of someone watching over her. Someone was there to protect her in case anyone came for her again. Someone cared enough for that.

The weight next to her moved, rolling lithely across the bed closer to her. Closer and closer they moved until they were right on top of her. She gasped when they placed their weight on her, opening her eyes and locking straight onto Eric's smirking face.

"So you're feeling better, I take it?" He said quietly, leaning down to kiss her neck in the most delicious way. It sent shivers of pleasure down her spine as he moved across the pale skin of her neck, sucking in strategic places that made her eyes close once more in appreciation. _He was good_.

"I'm sure there's room for feeling a little better," she responded, provoking him to continue where this was going. She needed it to escalate. She couldn't deny that she'd wanted this since she'd seen him on his desk with the woman; a part of her had wanted it to be _her_ he lusted after, even if she didn't want to admit it. And now it was.

He seemed to accept the challenge, his hand sliding down her naked body, skimming over her tanned curves until it landed on her waist.

_Higher or lower, Eric_, she wanted to scream, despite how heavenly it was to have his hands on her at all.

He seemed to know exactly what she wanted, though. His hand moved up towards her breast, cupping it gently, massaging it in his _very_ capable hand. She moaned softly, arching her back up slightly to press her chest into his hand more. _She needed more._

Once again, he seemed to know. He understood. It was like they were two people merged as one, joining together not only by his blood, but also by their mutual need for each other. They'd waited long enough. His left hand came to take over what his other was, his right hand moving slowly downwards tauntingly and teasingly slow, trying to get a reaction out of her. When she involuntarily whimpered out of frustration, he smirked again, his hand speeding up in its decent downwards.

He was _so_ close to her core, his left hand still sending sparks of electricity coursing through her body. Closer and closer his hand moved, ignoring her wiggling around, as it grew closer to the destination she so desperately wanted him to reach. Closer…closer…until finally…

Sarah awoke in a comfortable bed, her limbs sprawled out in every direction. The pillow felt heavenly against her face; she could practically feel the feathers in the pillow against her cheek whenever she shifted. The material of the bedding felt like the finest silk in the world. She was acutely aware of…everything. It was astonishing.

She remembered why quickly – the blood.

Eric's blood was making everything bigger, better, comfier… It made her feel more and see more and sense more than she usually could. This was one of the reasons why she loved being around vampires – anyone who wasn't would never get to feel this way. V got you high but it never made you like _this_ since it was never pure and clean. Vampire blood when ingested straight from the source was almost magical in the abilities it gave a person.

It was also the cause of the dream she'd just been subjected to, leaving her hot and bothered. She'd not thought of that side of the blood when Eric had told her that he'd given it to her. She was simply grateful for being alive. If she'd have taken the time to think about it properly, she'd have remembered this side of it before. When she'd had Godric's blood, it had given her dreams for a few nights, but since she'd not had much, the effects hadn't lasted long. Both Sarah and Godric had been thankful for that. It had been awkward having erotic dreams about her best friend, and when Godric had to listen to Sarah's moans and whimpers from the other room it had made him uncomfortable also. It was, however, an inevitable side effect of the blood, one that they had joked about not two months later.

With Eric… she didn't know how he'd react. _She_ didn't know how to react. A part of her, one that she was keeping locked away deep inside of her, was enjoying the fact that she was starting to feel like this about someone finally. Sure, she'd had a few boyfriends in college – none of them lasted long – but she'd never had a dream like that about any of them. The only other person whom she had was Godric and that was only because of the blood. That didn't mean anything to either of them. But now she was having dreams about someone who wasn't her best friend. Even if it was only because of the blood, she realised that she was glad to have them. Maybe she was starting to heal.

Yet the day before had been about as productive as three steps back in a race. She was more than a little shaken up by the events that had transcribed. She felt almost violated and dirty when she thought of them and what they were planning on doing. They had taken her to prove that they could. That they were so far above the law that they could kidnap and kill someone and justify it through religious means. It was a horrible and sickening thought, but she knew that they considered it to be true. One day not too far in the future, they'd come again. And her luck that had shown itself this time could only stretch so far.

Sarah rubbed her eyes and sat up gently, looking around the room which didn't look like it was used very often. A guest room, she supposed, since she could only take a few guesses as to where she was. The main guess she had, the one that made her curiosity reach new levels, was that she was in Eric's house. He trusted her enough to bring her there, which made her smile softly to herself. It seemed that the friendship, or whatever it was, she felt for him was not one sided.

The room was pristine, decorated like a Queen in a court would. It certainly looked as though it was expensive enough to be fit for a monarch. From her experience, it seemed that vampires would often collect different relics from their time on Earth, most of them dating back to the vampire's human life. Since Eric was over a thousand years of age, she guessed that he had hundreds of items that he'd deemed worthy of keeping. Glancing around, she saw a few paintings that she didn't recognise, but could tell were probably twice as expensive as her whole apartment in Dallas.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed swiftly, standing up and stretching before heading out of the door to investigate. She noticed that all of the windows were blanked out, leading her to assume that it was daytime and Eric was dead for the time being. Not knowing where she was going, she walked down the carpeted corridor, her bare feet not making any sound, turning corners when necessary and eventually navigated her way to the stairs and then to the kitchen. As she walked in, a man in a suit that looked vaguely familiar looked up from the newspaper on the counter and sat up straighter.

"Ms Williams," he greeted in a less than welcoming tone. "I'm Mr Northman's day-man, Bobby Burnham. We've met briefly before."

Sarah nodded when he told her his name, his rudeness and callousness coming back to her. "I remember, Mr Burnham."

He nodded sharply, looking as uncomfortable as she felt. She felt dirty in front of him in his crisp suit since she was wearing what she'd had on for three days. She felt inferior and that simply would not do. So she stood up a little taller, put her shoulders back and asked, in the same cold voice he'd spoken in, "Can I help you with something?"

His glare only became harsher as she spoke with the authority he'd clearly been expecting to have. "Mr Northman has asked me to tell you that any food you may require is in the pantry down the main hall to your left. Also, any clothing you may require is to be found in the closet in the bedroom you awoke in. You are not to leave this floor or the floor you awoke in and there will be consequences if you ignore this rule." He paused, looking at her as though she was incompetent and didn't understand what he'd said. "Is that clear to you, Ms Williams?"

She gritted her teeth and plastered a fake smile on her face. "Crystal."

He nodded again before closing his newspaper rigidly and walking out of the room with little more than another nod in her direction, a tight smile sitting wanly on his lips. She sighed in annoyance at his rude manner before searching through the various cupboards in the hope of finding a glass. Once finding the correct one, she grabbed the perfectly shiny glass and filled it with water, taking large gulps. Due to Eric's blood coursing through her, she didn't feel dehydrated but she hadn't drunk anything for days. The ice-cold liquid was heavenly even if she didn't need it.

Glancing at the clock, she was relieved to see that it was late afternoon, meaning that Eric would be up soon. She wondered if Isabel was still in the house; she found herself hoping that she was so she could have the chance to talk to her. Sarah would be the first to admit that after Godric's death, their friendship had diminished quickly to the point where a five minute phone call every week would be their only correspondence. Thinking back, it had been entirely the wrong thing to do. She should have made more of an effort to make their friendship even stronger. It wasn't just Sarah who lost someone – spending time with Eric was starting to highlight that exact point. She hoped that Isabel would stay long enough for Sarah to attempt to rebuild a relationship with the vampire she had once considered a mother-figure, a sister and a friend.

After she'd gotten dressed into some yoga pants and a tank top she found where she was told to look, Sarah walked around the floors of the house that she was "allowed" to roam. She took in every detail, every painting, every ornament that she assumed was centuries old in a futile attempt to gain some knowledge of who Eric actually was. Nothing she saw, however, alluded to his character. In fact, it only made him more of a mystery. She wouldn't have expected someone as detached as Eric to keep so much…_stuff_. It was almost like he was hoarding them, refusing to let them go as though they were a part of him. She would never have guessed Eric to be someone to keep so many things. She thought he would have considered them "clutter" or "waste of space." It made her wonder if she'd gotten Eric incredibly wrong.

Sarah was sat in what she guessed was the living room when the clock on the mantle chimed as it hit seven PM. She glanced up from the book she was reading – she'd found a collection of Hardy books that she had been flicking through – to look towards it when she heard the sound of a door opening from somewhere else in the house. If she'd not been sat in complete silence, she wouldn't have heard it, but since she was it was clear to her that Eric had woken up.

Knowing that he'd find her much quicker than she'd find him, she sat in place and continued to read before, sure enough, Eric materialised in the doorway with his hands behind his back and a smirk on his face.

"Enjoying yourself?" He asked, even though he obviously already knew the answer from the way she was curled up in a comfy ball with a contented look on her face.

She nodded in confirmation, placing the book on the couch next to her. She unravelled herself and stood up with the grace of a ballerina – she mentally thanked Eric's blood – and walked over to him slowly.

"I like your house," she told him with a small grin on her face because she was fairly sure that she had just given him a compliment.

He didn't smile back but he did walk around her to pick up the book she was reading and place it back on the bookshelf. "I don't spend much time here."

She nodded in response, already having assumed such since he spent all of his time in Fangtasia. It seemed a shame that such a nice house was not being taken advantage of. Sarah knew that if she lived there, she wouldn't ever want to leave its magnificence.

"Sleep well?" Eric asked with an innocent tone, but when she looked up, she saw him grinning openly which told her that he knew exactly what connotations his question had.

Well, she thought, if he expected her to become embarrassed and girly suddenly then he didn't know her at all. "Yes, actually," she told him, lifting her head a little higher. "Nice dreams tend to do that." She saw no point in lying – it _was_ a nice dream. Then again, it would have been a nice dream if Eric was replaced with _anyone_ since she was the one receiving the pleasure.

His grin only widened as she spoke, quirking one eyebrow up in the process. He didn't respond in any way other than that, leading to an awkward silence that seemed to last longer than the few moments it actually did.

Sarah ended it by clearing her throat. "Thank you, by the way. For coming to save me." She tried to make it as sincere as she could without sounding as though she was about to fall into his arms 'Gone With The Wind' style. She really was indebted to him for what he did, but she'd be damned if she was going to acknowledge it aloud to him.

Once more, he didn't reply but he did motion for her to sit back down on the couch. She frowned in response, not understanding. Weren't they going to the bar?

She asked him that very question, to which he replied with a sharp, "No," which left her confused. He sounded as though the very idea was blasphemous and idiotic, which didn't make any sense to her since they'd been spending all their time there prior to her kidnapping.

"Why?" She asked as she frowned, feeling a strange sense of disappointment at not going. She'd grown somewhat attached to the place after spending weeks there.

"If you think I'm taking you back there and leaving you open to kidnapping again, then you're more idiotic than I thought," he told her calmly as he went to sit on the chair opposite her, leaning forwards over his legs and clasping his hands.

_Oh_, she thought, finally understanding his hostility. He didn't want to fail Godric again. She understood, though. She would do anything Godric had told her to do until the day she died if it meant that she could respect his memory. She could hardly fault Eric, who loved him longer and more intensely that she, for doing the same thing.

"Of course not," she agreed finally, nodding. The thought of Godric didn't weigh on her heart as it used to when she first came here. She figured that seeing someone else who lost him getting on with their life inspired her to do the same. She needed to get over it. "Besides, I don't think I want to go back for a while. It'd be too soon…"

If she went back to the place where she was taken, her mind would instantly whizz back to being choked by smoke and her leg being engulfed in flames. The scars weren't there anymore thanks to the blood, but her mind hadn't been healed just yet. That would take some time.

Eric nodded in agreement, before he began questioning her on what had happened. She told him that she couldn't remember getting there, which she didn't since she'd been knocked out with the chloroform, and that when she'd come back around again, she was handcuffed to a chair with Steve Newlin's revolting face in front of her. She told him about the headache that had made her want to claw her eyes out and how the cuffs had been digging into her wrists painfully, almost cutting the circulation off. He sat patiently through her whole story up until the bonfire, nodding in encouragement whenever she got a little choked up thinking about how close she'd been to death again. He didn't look at her as though she was pathetic for doing so either, which she wanted to hig him for.

Once she'd finished, she went to get another glass of water from the kitchen before returning to find him texting on his phone.

"Can you tell me what happened? How you managed to get me away from them?" Sarah asked with curiosity evident in her voice.

"Diversion and attack. Pam led Isabel's guards around to the other side of the building to distract Newlin while Isabel and I went to retrieve you from the fire. Of course, some of the "soldiers" that Newlin had been training attempted to fight back but they weren't prepared for a vampire attack."

He looked as though he was about to continue before Sarah cut him off with a high-pitched, "Vampire attack? They're going to milk this for all it's worth, you know."

Why would Eric risk the safety of the vampire community for her, she wondered? But before she could get too far ahead of herself, he reminded her of one thing. "If they wish to do so, we can argue a very good case that they were holding an innocent human hostage and were close to killing her. And I know the perfect lawyer for the case." He threw her a sly grin, making her sure that she knew he was talking about her.

She laughed a little at his suaveness and his efficient changing of the subject. "How do you know I'm a good lawyer? I could be the worst lawyer in the world and you wouldn't know since you've never seen me in a courtroom."

His grin stayed on his face, which made something inside her light up. She liked it when he smiled – it showed her that he wasn't always an arrogant bastard. "Rebecca spoke highly of you. She couldn't stop singing your praises."

"But that's Rebe—"

"That, and you're one of the most tenacious and stubborn people I've ever met. I thought Sookie was a persistent woman, but then you came along. So it's impossible for you to be bad at arguing a case, especially if it's something you care about. If I've inferred anything about you since you came here, it is that."

_Wow_. He really was paying attention to her. She'd thought that since she was a burden to him, he'd ignore her as much as possible outside their lessons. Yet he'd spoken to her more often than not, and it seemed he'd been paying explicit attention to her mannerisms. The thought excited her somewhat, but she couldn't figure out why. Someone she considered a friend – and not even a close one – took notice of her character. So did Isabel, and she wasn't as excited about that.

She cleared her throat to ease the silence a little and averted her eyes away from his piercing stare. The grin was gone. "I'm pretty sure you're much more stubborn than I am. You're so obstinate it's unreal. A thousand years practice, I guess…"

She was trying to lighten the mood that had suddenly taken over the room. It was a mood that made her want to tug at her clothes and scratch her neck and fake-cough some more to make up for the horrendously awkward muteness in the room.

"So…" She started, unsure of where she was going to go with her ridiculously clichéd sentence. "What are you doing tonight, then, if I can't leave?"

He didn't look away from her as he spoke, which forced her to stare at his carpet. It was cream and comfortable to walk bare-foot on, she noted, and there wasn't a hair or a piece of lint in sight. "We are staying in. If I didn't make it clear before, I no longer trust anyone to protect you apart from myself. Which means that you're not leaving my sight."

She lifted her head from the floor to look at him quickly. Was he serious? They were going to stay together at all times for the rest of her stay? Could she really survive him 24/7? Sure, they were sort-of-friends now but he was still a supercilious man. They'd end up killing each other before the Fellowship got them.

She swallowed heavily. "Is that a good idea?"

"Probably not, but it's the only one I trust."

_What the hell would we do every night_? She wondered. He must've read her mind because he continued.

"We can continue to practice with your talent. You've shown that you can push yourself further than what you originally thought so we're going to keep on pushing."

Suddenly, she became angry. How could he say that so simply? _He_ wasn't the one being pushed to do something that didn't help in the slightest when caught!

Even in her midst of her anger, she could tell that he was expecting her outburst from the apprehensive look in his eyes. _The blood,_ she remembered.

"I'm not a robot! I'm a human! I'm not programmed to 'push' myself this much, Eric. It's a miracle we've gotten so far. Oh and by the way, finding a memory of someone's weekend does not help in a situation like the one I just went through! I couldn't do anything! I was completely helpless! So if you're going to 'push me' like you seem to think you can, at least push me somewhere that's actually useful!"

She finished her outburst with a huff, feeling the adrenaline coursing through her. Nobody seemed to be able to make her blood boil like Eric Northman.

"I was testing your ability to learn, something which you proved that you can do if you put your mind to it," Eric snapped back, his irritation also rising. It seemed that they provoked each other. "So either shut up about how unfair I'm being and learn the control of a vampire or do not learn at all. It is your choice."

She sighed, not really wanting to get into it with him after he'd saved her life. Placing her hands at her eyebrows and looking down, she muttered quietly, "I want to learn, Eric, I do. But please stop thinking that my mind is a flexible as yours. Please remember that I'm only human."

When she looked back up again after not hearing a reply, she was surprised to find him smirking. "You're backing down from an argument? Are you feeling well?" He asked, playfulness tinting the words.

How could he do this? She wondered. How could he go from being hostile to her and treating her like everyone else one minute to being playful the next? Was this man always so confusing?

She rolled her eyes and mumbled, "I need a drink."

She got up and headed into the kitchen, hearing his confused shout that she already had a glass of water on the table in front of them. She shook her head to herself. He didn't understand. He only drank blood – he couldn't know the benefits of a lovely glass of wine.

It took her a few minutes to find a glass of wine in the pantry. She guessed that it was probably the most expensive wine she'd ever had and a part of her felt guilty for being the first to drink it, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She needed alcohol and it was there.

She wandered back into the living room after finding a glass, filling it with the white wine she'd found. He watched her intently – she could feel his eyes on her – but she ignored him. After what had happened to her, she owed it to herself to get happily tipsy that night.

She didn't look up as she asked, "Where's Isabel?"

His voice was lower than usual when he spoke. "She's gone to Fangtasia to run things while I remain here. She said to tell you that she'll try to be back early so you can catch up."

She tried to fight off the sense of disappointment she felt, but it was no use. It still washed over her and made her pour just that little bit extra into her glass before she settled it back down on the coffee table. She took one large gulp before shutting herself off from the disappointment. She had no right to be disappointed in Isabel after she'd pretty much ignored her following Godric's death.

"So what are _we_ doing tonight?" She asked again, making sure she got it right that time.

He looked slightly puzzled momentarily before shrugging. "I've made no specific plans. Is there anything you'd like to do?"

She could tell he regretted the question immediately once the wicked smile appeared on her face.

ooo

That was how she and Eric ended up laying on a sofa each watching _Roman Holiday_. He'd told her that he refused to watch that particular film but he didn't mind watching a movie, but she'd reminded him that she'd been through a traumatic experience that only wine, chocolate and a chick-flick could begin to make better. He'd reluctantly agreed to watch it, telling that he'd seen it when it first came out and had actually met Audrey Hepburn. She'd gaped at him for a few minutes, before firing a barrage of questions at him about her personality, which he'd answered as well as he could seeing as he only spoke to her for a few moments. He laughed at her enthusiasm as she was a favourite actress of Sarah's and she really was impressed that he'd met her. She'd never even been close to a famous person. When she'd told him this, he'd grinned and cockily announced that she'd met him. She'd drunkenly laughed as she poured herself yet another glass and told him to get over herself. When the film came on, they lapsed into a more comfortable silence since it was being filled by Audrey's voice.

Sarah reached for the bottle again and emptied out what was left into the glass, which wasn't much. She chugged that down before lying back down on Eric's incredibly comfortable couch, snuggling into the pillow behind her. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to imagine what it would have been like to be Audrey Hepburn. Glamorous was the first thing that came to mind.

When she opened them again, Eric was on top of her and gazing at her hungrily. She licked her lips, hoping that what she wanted to happen would, and his eyes flickered to watch the movement. The blue in his eyes that was highlighted by the television grew a little darker and his face moved a fraction closer.

Throwing caution to the wind and hoping to hell that this was what he wanted too, she reached her arm up in her drunken haze and pulled his face down to hers. Their lips touched and the first thing she thought was electric. It made her whole body light up and tingle with pleasure, the knot in her stomach that had been present that morning coming back with full force. It was exhilarating and amazing and spine-chillingly good… and that was only a kiss, she thought. If he could make her come undone with a kiss, what would he do when she didn't have the barrier of her clothes between them?

She stopped thinking about anything when his lips trailed down to her neck, biting and licking and sucking until she eventually moaned his name in an attempt to get him to stop teasing her. She felt his fangs descend against the skin on her neck and she couldn't help the throaty sound in the back of her throat that arose. She'd never been bitten in pleasure before, but she could tell it would be good. After all, she'd lived in a vampire nest for months. She'd heard enough human screams to know that whatever it was the vampires did was incredible.

Her body knew what she wanted before her mind did, her neck elongating against the cushion. "Do it," she gasped, her body stilling in anticipation.

He didn't need telling twice, and his fangs sunk down into her vein.

She snapped back into reality, her hand on her chest as she tried to control her heavy breathing. She almost groaned again – only this time out of annoyance rather than arousal – when she realised that she'd fallen asleep…on the sofa…with Eric across the room from her.

"Fuck."

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**Sorry, I couldn't help the Roman Holiday reference. It was on the other day (Film4, anyone?) and it really is a favourite of mine. I couldn't resist. **

**Anyway, I'm so sorry once again for the lack of review replies (I was being so good as well!) and for the shitty update lateness. Exams and stuff are coming up next month so I've been working a lot. Not much of an excuse, but there you have it.**

**Is it cheeky to ask for reviews when I don't update for weeks? Thought so. But I'll do it anyway. Review, please? ;)**


	17. You're A Criminal As Long As You're Mine

**This chapter didn't go the way I planned it to, but once I got into it, it seemed to just happen. I hope you enjoy it anyway! Please excuse any typos. **

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Her head quickly whirled around to her left to where Eric was laid. She growled in frustration and threw her hands over her red face when she saw his expression – eyebrow raised, smirk on his lips and his eyes boring into hers.

He knew _exactly_ what she'd been dreaming about.

She spoke from behind her hands so that she didn't have to see his face and witness her own patheticness. "I can't help it," she mumbled, her words muffled. "It's an inevitable side effect of your blood."

She heard his low chuckle rumble through the space between them. "Did you hear me complaining?"

Her hands came down so fast they made a slapping sound on her legs. She gave him a look that said both, "Now's not the time for your sense of humour," and "Thank you so much for saying that." It was such an "Eric" thing to say and she was grateful for the reminder of the reality of her situation.

"So…" she hedged, wanting to move past the tension but not wanting to leave the topic. "I guess we'll have to deal with this for a while."

He nodded once, his eyes still glistening with mischievousness. She hoped he didn't try to exacerbate her mortification by saying something else that would only make her want to crawl inside the sofa she sat on.

"How long, do you think?"

He paused as though he was deciding whether or not he should tease her a little longer before deciding against it. "Your blood will replenish within six weeks, maybe sooner."

She gaped at him in shock. Six weeks? It hadn't lasted that long with Godric at all – maybe three weeks maximum. What was so different about Eric's blood? Surely by their nature, Godric's would last longer because he was older and stronger? Evidently not, she thought haughtily.

"You seem surprised," he noted, as though he wasn't expecting this.

She swallowed thickly before replying, "You mean I have to live with you in the same house every single day for six weeks having these dreams about you?"

His eyes were beginning to lose the sparkle they held initially at her distress as he became bored with it. That was something important she'd learnt about Eric quickly during her stay with him. He was often amused by the human nature and entertained by it, but after a while he grew tired of emotions continuing past their 'expiry date.' It was evident from his expression that he had grown tired of her shock about the blood.

Before he got the wrong impression, she hurried to say, "Not that I'm not grateful for you giving it me."

He nodded once before standing up, and slowly walking over to where she sat and sat down next to her. What was he doing? She noticed that her breath sped up slightly and hoped to God that he didn't notice. She mentally cursed at herself – what an idiotic thought. He could surely hear the blood flowing around her body, never mind about her breathing which was the only sound in the room anyway.

She cleared her throat slightly when he simple stared at her, seeing more in that second with his sharp eyes than she had seen in her whole life of looking at herself. "I saw some of your things…" She broke off, irritated with how childish that sounded. "The antiques? Like the painting above the fireplace over there… they're from your time travelling?"

"Yes," he replied shortly, leaning back against the couch spreading his arms over the back. "The painting is a Botticelli, if you didn't know."

She was humbled by the fact that she didn't. "A real Botticelli? Or a copy? Surely it can't be a real one, otherwise it'd be in a galle—"

"It's real," he cut her off, staring at the painting. "I met him when Godric and I were in Florence on a business trip for the then King of England."

"The actual King or the vampire King?" Sarah asked, enraptured with the story she hoped he was about to tell. She used to love hearing stories of Godric's past, but he was often reluctant to tell them to her. He once said that he was not proud of his past and he'd shut the topic off to her before she could ask what he'd meant by that. She somewhat hoped that Eric would eventually fill her in on his past; she knew for a fact that whatever it was that he did wouldn't make her think any less of him.

"The vampire King, of course," he replied, looking at her as though she was insane. "He'd heard about the growing impact of the Medici family – they were the ruling family in Florence – and he wanted Godric and I to ensure that they weren't a threat. The Renaissance movement had been sweeping through Europe like a disease and Godric was fascinated with it."

"Why?" She breathed, loving hearing about Godric's past.

Feeling her excitement and interest through the newly formed bond, Eric continued. "He loved the art and the literature. That was how we came across Botticelli – Godric met him as a child on that trip and saw something in him. Of course, he initially found him for his blood but he—"

The sip of wine Sarah had taken as she prepared to get comfortable for the impromptu story slid down her throat before she was prepared as she gasped in shock. She started to cough and splutter, Eric watching on with thinly veiled disgust and doing nothing to help. Eventually, she calmed down enough to choke out, "He bit a child?"

Eric frowned, not expecting her shock over that. "Did you not know he fed on children?"

_That was it_, she thought. His desire for child's blood was the reason he didn't like speaking of his past with her too often. She could see why he had been apprehensive, but was he that unsure of her loyalty that he couldn't tell her that? He didn't drink the blood of children when he was with her and barely even drank a human's blood unless Isabel went out of her way to bring a unique tasting donor. She wouldn't have thought any less of him if he'd told her, she told herself. Yet a small part told her that if he'd have confessed his bloodlust at the start of their relationship, she'd have left him without understanding. But they'd had enough time together for their relationship to blossom – or at least she'd thought they'd had.

"No," she answered quietly, feeling a strange sort of disappointment in Godric that she'd never felt before. Not because he fed on children, but because he'd not trusted her enough to tell her. "Sorry, go on. I'd like to hear how you managed to get Botticelli to paint you a copy of the original."

Eric, sensing that she'd been through a plethora of emotions in the last few seconds quickly acquiesced to her request, not wanting to deal with a sad woman. Women were never sad around Eric Northman. "Anyway, Godric met him when he was a child, and after we got the information we needed for the King, we went to Rome to stay at the court of the King of Italy. Godric was quite famous in Europe because of his age and since he lived in Rome when he was a human he wished to see how it changed over the years. After a few decades, he wished to return to Florence to find the intriguing boy from Florence and discovered that he'd become a local celebrity within the town because of his artistic abilities which were very much in keeping of the Renaissance movement. The boy remembered him and wanted to give him a memento to remember him by. Hence the painting."

Sarah listened intently, finding it strange for Eric to be referring to Botticelli as "the boy." It still surprised Sarah just how old vampires were and how much they'd seen. It was fascinating. "So how come Godric gave you the painting?"

Eric leaned forward onto his knees, bringing his face closer to hers. She instinctively moved back slightly, which made him smirk. "When Godric began to change his ways, the guilt forced him to have the painting removed because it reminded him of his past sins. I knew the painting would one day be valuable and saved it."

She nodded in understanding. While she did appreciate and enjoy the story Eric just shared, she didn't like the reminder of Godric it held, and the fact that it portrayed him in a negative light made her want to forget she heard it. The again, she reasoned, she needed to understand that Godric made mistakes just like she or Eric did.

So she smiled, and thanked him for telling the story, refilling her glass.

"So how's the bar going to fare without you there to run it?" She asked, not knowing how his new arrangement would work. Surely he'd need to go there at some point.

"Pam will manage," he said bluntly, clearly not wanting to negotiate any of his new rules.

Sarah huffed lightly trying to make sure her disagreement was heard. What happened would have happened whoever she was with, most likely, or wherever she was. If they'd not taken her from Fangtasia, it would have been from the supermarket one day or from the house. It didn't make sense for Eric to be so overprotective of her. He'd done his best and Sarah liked to think that Godric wouldn't have been disappointed at all.

"What if they need you? You're quite the attraction to the touri—"

"You're not going and I refuse to leave you. Thus, the bar will have to manage without me. Pam is also attractive to the tourists. Any vampire would. _Bill Compton_ would entertain them." He said Bill's name with apparent repugnance as he always did, strongly indicating his dislike for the man.

Sarah tried to suppress a smile at Eric's childishness when it came to Bill. "What exactly do you hold against Bill? Except for the fact that Sookie loves him?" Her smile came through at the end of her sentence when she saw Eric's scowl directed at her.

He looked as though he wasn't about to answer before he grumbled, "Aside from that fact, he is a poor exc—"

His sentence got cut off when they both heard a door shut from inside the house, making his head snap towards the door, but when his posture relaxed back into the sofa, Sarah could easily conclude that the visitor was someone he knew.

Isabel's lithe form peeped through the door, a warm smile on her face. She looked goddess-like as usual in a black dress that looked suitable for an office meeting and not running a vampire bar.

Sarah grinned happily when she saw the woman's tan figure enter the room and shot up like a bat out of hell to hug her, previously not having much of a chance. Isabel laughed slightly in a motherly way, hugging the woman back and patting her gently. In truth, the vampire was just as pleased to see that Sarah was alive and well after her ordeal previously; Eric's blood had healed her physically but Isabel was cautious of how Sarah felt mentally.

"Are you all right?" she asked carefully, her eyes scanning over Sarah's face as though she was looking for any sign in her expression that she wasn't.

"I will be," Sarah confirmed, not wanting to sound too whiny. It was true – she was sure that Eric would help her mind to move on from being kidnapped and nearly killed. His home and his personality were welcome distractions from reality. Sarah could only hope that it stayed that way for as long as possible.

"I brought some clothes for you," Isabel told her, lifting up a bag that looked expensive. If the bag looked expensive, Sarah could only hope the clothes inside hadn't been too overpriced. Nevertheless, she was grateful to Isabel for thinking of her needs, because as much as she appreciated wearing the clothes in Eric's closet, she had been questioning why they'd been there in the first place. She shuddered to think of who may have worn these clothes before or what had occurred in them.

Eric, however, appeared to find Sarah's sudden gratitude offensive. "I had Bobby fetch you clothes. As you're wearing clean ones, I'm assuming you found them. Were they not to your liking? I specifically demanded them to your tastes, or what you appear to enjoy wearing." He paused and then licked his lips. "And what I enjoy you wearing."

Sarah almost smiled at his confusion. It seemed as though Eric had never been incorrect about guessing a woman's size and style and he didn't want to falter then. "No, Eric, they were lovely. I didn't know they were new." She decided to ignore the latter comment but she couldn't help but feel flattered that he sometimes appreciated what she wore. Like the black lace dress she'd worn when she'd interrupted Eric and his meal one night. He'd seemed to like that… especially on his couch…She stopped that trail of thought before it could run away with her imagination any more. Any woman would be grateful for a 1000 year old vampire appreciating her, she told the part of her that reprimanded her for enjoying his attention. It wasn't because she wanted him to notice her. Like any other female, she liked to look nice. There was no harm in that, she reasoned.

"Thank you, Isabel," Sarah continued, taking the bag from the vampire's outstretched hand. "Now I have even more lovely clothes." She emphasised the last three words to both of them so that neither felt as though their clothes weren't nice enough. Vampires, she thought, were not very different from children sometimes.

"You are welcome," Isabel said with a smile, but it looked slightly nervous. She glanced over at Eric and asked, "Can we have a moment alone?"

Eric looked slightly put out that he was being thrown from his own room, but he left, understanding that the two women needed to speak. Far be it from him, he reasoned, to stand between two headstrong women and what they wanted.

Once alone, Sarah and Isabel stood awkwardly in a silence that seemed to stretch just a little too long. Sarah wanted to apologise to her friend for her behaviour after finding out about Godric. It had been out of line and uncalled for. It wasn't her fault.

Sarah took a deep breath and blurted, "I'm sorry, Isabel," at exactly the same time Isabel apologised also, albeit in a much more calm manner than Sarah.

Both women laughed a little, before Sarah tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and asked if she could go first. Isabel nodded her approval as she guided Sarah to Eric's comfortable couch. "I'm so sorry for the way I handled…the news about Godric." She was a little shocked when her eyes didn't well up like they usually did when she spoke of him. She supposed that talking about him with Eric had desensitised her to his name and the memories hearing it brought back. "It was…beyond rude and unacceptable and cruel and—"

Isabel cut her off by placing a cold hand on her leg. "Child, there's no need to apologise. You loved Godric and your reaction was only natural."

Sarah scoffed, feeling even more guilty by Isabel's dismissal of her behaviour. "I bet you didn't react like that."

Isabel smiled sadly. "I did not react with anger as you did; I didn't ever feel anger towards him or the situation. Only sadness and a reluctant acceptance to his actions." When Sarah frowned in confusion, not understanding how Isabel could have reacted so maturely when someone she'd loved had left her, Isabel rushed to clarify. "He hadn't been happy for some time. When he was with you he was happier, but as you began to become preoccupied with your work, he seemed to…"

Isabel trailed off when she caught the scent of tears. Sarah, hating the fact that it was her fault Godric became withdrawn, was suddenly crippled with the overwhelming feelings of guilt, blame and self-loathing. It appeared that it was not only her who blamed her lack of attention to his death.

Realising her fault, Isabel tried to backtrack but both women knew it was too late. The words had been spoken. "I did not mean that as it sounded, child. Godric would have become withdrawn for another reason if you had been tied to his hip. He had begun to hate waking to see what vampires had become following the great revelation. What humans had become in the wake of it. I did not mean to imply that it was your busy schedule that caused Godric's death."

"And yet you did," another voice sounded, surprising both of the women. Eric stood in the doorway of the room, staring at Isabel with a stern expression on his face. He looked, Sarah thought, livid. She somewhat expected the anger to be directed at her since he'd obviously heard what was said and decided to agree with it, but she caught him staring at Isabel.

"Eric, this is between Sarah and I. I'd appreciate you leav—"

"Need I remind you that you are in my house?" Eric growled, his voice dangerously low and his glare only becoming more deadly by the second.

Swallowing thickly, Sarah tried to fight off the blame and guilt and send some kind of calm emotion to the Viking. "Eric, it's fine, she wasn't blaming me…"

When Eric spoke he didn't take his eyes off Isabel. "It sounded like she was."

"Well," Sarah mumbled, trying to make the situation less tense but failing miserably. "She didn't mean to."

Sarah had been focusing so intensely on Eric that she hadn't thought to look at the Spanish vampire beside her. When she did, she was alarmed by her expression. It looked feral – like Isabel, too, was beyond angry at Eric's insinuations. Her fangs were bared at the Viking, her eyes wild and her chest heaving. She was truly a sight to behold when angered, Sarah thought. She couldn't recall a time when she'd seen Isabel truly angry. She'd seen pissed off but never angry. Isabel seemed too motherly for that. It was unwise, Sarah thought, that she'd let her guard drop so much to forget that Isabel was primarily a vampire. A predator. An animal. Her instinct was to feed and kill, just like it was human nature to create life. How ironic – God had indeed balanced the world out by placing both species on Earth. Seeing Isabel riled up in this way was enough to make Sarah stop talking. This was between the two vampires – her two friends.

Realising that she could stop this if she wanted, she tried to sound assertive as she tried to catch one of the vampires' eye. "Stop this."

It didn't work. Both of them were so focused on glaring at the other that they wouldn't look or listen to her. Even when she tried to move her head to gain Isabel's attention, both vampires were wise enough to not look at her. She had no influence. She was thrown in the middle of something she had no control over and she hated it. _Her_ nature was to control things, so to sit there without any power in her hands was unnerving. All she could do was sit and try to calm Eric down silently. She simply hoped that Isabel was only reacting and was not truly as angry as she looked.

"If you intend to play the blame game, Isabel, surely we should view it from more angles, hm?" Eric's voice was sweet and calm, but the menace was clear.

"As I just told her, it was _not_ my intention," Isabel snapped, her voice not nearly as controlled as Eric's.

"I'd have thought that with your…_expertise and age_, you would have the ability to think before speaking."

_Oh God_. Sarah put her head in her hands and sighed deeply. She threw out one more, "Guys, please, stop it. This is completely unnecessary," for good measure but her plea fell on deaf ears.

"How dare you, Viking?" Isabel screeched, rising swiftly from the seat where the two women had sat sharing apologies only moments ago. Sarah felt slightly miffed that Eric thought she couldn't control the situation herself, but when she remembered that she hadn't been controlling it at all, she found that she had no reason to be. "How dare you stand there and accuse me of blaming her for Godric's death? You don't know Sarah nearly as well as I do. She knows very well I didn't intend to place any amount of blame onto her!"

Eric took a threatening step forward, his own fangs coming out in his anger. "You know nothing of Sarah now."

She did not like being talked about like she was not sitting right before them. Glaring at the two of them herself, she huffed loudly. What did that mean, "You know nothing of Sarah now"? Had she changed that dramatically over the last few weeks? She didn't think so. She did, however, think that it was fair to say that she had changed since Isabel last saw her. She was no longer obsessed with a vampire and she no longer thought her life was perfect. Godric's death had been a horrific wake-up call which had forced Sarah to accept that life threw all kinds of bad things at people but there was nothing that could be done but move on. She liked to think that she'd grown up a little since his death.

Isabel laughed almost manically, but still managed to look beautiful while doing so. "You think you know her? You have felt a night's worth of emotions from her. That doesn't mean you know her, Eric. You know nothing. In fact, I can imagine that you have simply tried to exploit her for her gift." Isabel scoffed lightly, taking a step towards him in a similar way to how he had moments ago. "You're no better than Stan."

And with that, Eric's control snapped. Sarah didn't see how he managed it, but the next second, Isabel was pinned against the wall across the room, Eric's forearm pressing on her throat. Even though Isabel had no need for oxygen, her pained expression let Sarah know that Eric was applying enough force to kill ten humans. Isabel thrashed against his hold, her nails gripping his arm and drawing blood but this did not deter him.

Knowing it would do no good but not having the ability to simply sit there and watch, Sarah jumped up from the couch and almost shouted, "For God's sake, Eric, let her go!"

Unsurprisingly, he did not. Huffing once more, Sarah began to march over there to try to pry Eric' hand off Isabel or to gain his attention long enough to order him to do so, but Eric's booming voice stopped her after taking only two steps.

"Sit back down, Sarah!"

Even though his anger wasn't directed at her, she couldn't help but swallow a little in fear before stiffly complying. She could deal with pissed off vampires, but she didn't think she'd ever seen two vampires as angry as these two appeared to be.

"If you ever compare me him again, I won't hesitate to stake you where you stand, regardless of Sarah's feelings or Godric's preference of you," she heard Eric say, his voice low but still the epitome of calm. In the next second, Sarah saw Isabel lying on the floor towards her and Eric turned around to face her but looking down at Isabel.

"The same applies if you ever insult what is mine again." With this, he looked at Sarah for the first time since he walked into the room, his eyes dark with rage and his fangs protruding.

Sarah couldn't help the sharp exhale of breath that left her. _What's mine?_ Surely he didn't mean her? If he did… she was going to kill him.

Isabel, who had stood up gracefully and was smoothing out her skirt in an attempt to salvage her dignity, seemed to have an issue with this also. "Yours? Sarah will never be yours. She has more sense than that."

Eric looked straight at Sarah as he replied, "She may not know it yet but make no mistake, Isabel. She. Is. Mine."

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**Firstly, I hope you enjoyed the chapter after the long wait. I'm quite nervous about posting, I won't lie. **

**Secondly, I'm ridiculously sorry. I won't bore you with excuses about why this chapter took so long; the word "exams" pretty much sums it up. Thank you to everyone who is still reading, and thanks to anyone who is adding TSOYH to their alerts/favourites and/or reviewing the chapters. Whenever I get an email, it really does make me so **_**so**_** happy that someone (anyone) is enjoying this story. It's a really good feeling knowing other people appreciate your work!**

**Also, to those who've seen the new season – what did you all think? I think it looks promising! I must admit that hearing Eric say "You are mine," was kind of what I've been waiting for since Season 1 so I can't complain (plus it inspired this chapter). I'm also really happy that Pam has more screen time! "Let these good people practice their constitutional right to be fucking idiots." I love me some Pam.**

**Anyway, thank you for reading!**


	18. I'm Always In This Twilight

**Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for your support! Prepare yourselves for sexual tension overload…**

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Confusion was her first reaction. Even though Sarah knew exactly what the term meant – she'd spent enough time with Godric and with her clients to understand what a vampire's claim meant – she couldn't fathom why on Earth Eric Northman would place such a claim on her. He, who could have whoever he wanted, had suddenly declared a feeble human his after defending her honour like they'd time-travelled back to the time of courtly love and horses and princesses and castles. What had made him think that she had any desire to be claimed by anyone, let alone him who so openly desired her housemate? She wasn't one of his antiques that he could own and collect.

Thus began her journey to anger. How dare he declare her his? She hadn't done anything or given any indication that she would choose to be his if given the choice. Hell, she hadn't even been that nice to him. What had possessed him to be so deluded to think that she would stand for that? No, she thought. She wouldn't let him claim her… not without her permission, anyway. While she did understand that having a vampire's claim placed on you was one of the highest forms of protection in their world, she didn't want to be his just because he'd wanted to prove a point to Isabel. She wouldn't be used like that.

"Eric, shut up," she said sternly, glaring at him.

As expected, he simply stared at her before retracting his fangs and brushed off imaginary lint from his clothes. "Isabel, I think it is best if you leave." His voice was curt and cold, showing both women that he wasn't finished with his temper tantrum yet.

Isabel didn't dignify him with a response and simply walked over to where Sarah stood, half glaring at Eric and half pleading with Isabel to forgive her for not doing anything. Isabel looked as though she was about to kiss Sarah on the cheek and the brunette leaned in but then Isabel sent a cautious glance to where Eric stood and pulled away, not touching Sarah once.

"Goodbye, child. I hope we see each other again soon." Her voice was strained with the tension that hadn't left her body from her fight with Eric but her eyes were warm as they regarded one of her favourite humans.

Sarah nodded, still feeling a plethora of emotions, most of which were aimed at the vampire behind Isabel. "Me too. I'll visit you next time…I miss Dallas." She tried to smile but when she heard Eric's warning growl she knew that Isabel needed to leave soon before any more walls became ruined.

Isabel smiled in return before leaving the house with vampire speed, leaving no trace of her ever being there. In her wake, she left two hot-headed people who were both pissed off.

Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and levelled Eric with the frostiest look she could muster. "Where the hell did that come from?" Her voice was practically a growl. Even though she knew she was up against a vampire who could probably crush her without much of a thought, the adrenaline flowing through her made her feel as though she could take him on. She was beyond angry and confused and they were not a good combination.

Eric returned her look with a glance that put hers to shame. "She insulted you and insinuated that it was your fault Godric died. I acted as I saw fit."

"Not the fight, Eric, the claim! 'She is mine?' Really? When was I going to learn about this?" She was shouting now, etiquette be damned.

"I don't see why this is such a huge surprise to you," Eric said lowly, walking casually around the room picking up anything that had fallen due to his anger. He seemed so calm about this while Sarah was freaking out, her face flushed with her irritation. How could he behave so casually when he'd just said _those_ words. It couldn't have been that he didn't understand the implication of them – if she, a human, did then surely a vampire would be far more aware of the consequences than she was.

"Are you serious?" She exclaimed in shock. What response had he expected her to have? Did he expect that she would fall at his feet, overcome with happiness, and simply accept that he had marked his territory? If he did, clearly he didn't know her at all.

"Deadly." His mouth twitched slightly with his joke, doing nothing to make Sarah calmer. In fact, it only fuelled her anger and she stormed over to him and pushed him on his chest as though it would do some good. He didn't move an inch and Sarah hurt her wrists in the process.

Rubbing them lightly to ease their pain, she loudly asked, "How can you find this entertaining at all? I don't want to be yours, Eric!"

Before she could register his movement, he'd moved closer to her so that their chests were practically touching. Hers was heaving with breathlessness and helplessness, brushing up against his as it moved. He didn't seem to notice since his eyes were fixed on hers, practically pinning her to where she stood.

"Your body says otherwise. Earlier on the couch, don't think I didn't notice your reaction. Pupils dilating, heartbeat rising, the lovely smell of phemoromes—"

"Enough!" She barked, her face heating to a violent scarlet with his description. She had hoped, pointlessly it seemed, he wouldn't have noticed that. "I can't help that! Y-You… You were close and… I've had your blood…"

One side of his mouth rose slightly at her fumbled sentence, enjoying the way her blood had rushed to her face, providing him with the heightened scent of her delicious smelling blood. "Deny it all you want, Sarah. My blood is in you and I've decided to keep you. Therefore, all vampires who come across you will be able to smell my scent all over you. No Supernatural creature will ever dare to try to override my claim." His voice was low but since they were so close together, she heard him perfectly. She tried to step back so that she could think again – when he was that close she seemed to lose all sense and reason – but her foot hit the armchair behind her. He'd been very strategic about his cornering of her, she thought.

"Y-You said the blood would be gone within six weeks," she attempted to argue, but her voice sounded pathetically weak even to her own ears. Where had her usual fire gone? She wasn't the sort of person to stand for this but she was becoming increasingly aware that no matter how much she protested, Eric wasn't going to budge. Her protests were probably only spurring him on.

"I said your blood would replenish within six weeks. Any other information you inferred from that is simply an assumption. My blood is old enough and powerful enough to linger in your body for a while and I do plan on getting some more in there…" His voice trailed off suggestively.

Her face contorted into one of disgust and she proclaimed, "I will never take any of your blood again! I didn't even ask for it last time! I would have rather been sent to a hospital to recuperate!"

"Unconscious or not, you seemed to enjoy taking my blood," he provoked her, backing away slightly to give her some space. He preferred it when she fought back and when he crowded her, she lost a little of her spirit.

"Sure," she drawled sarcastically, refusing to believe that she'd enjoyed receiving _blood_ in her unconscious state. She was used to blood from being around vampires so much but she didn't like it _that_ much. "Get over yourself, Northman."

As soon as she'd spoken those words, his eyes lit up with the playfulness she'd become somewhat accustomed to. She rolled her eyes in anticipation of his comment that was bound to be an innuendo of sorts. She wasn't in the mood right then. "I'd much rather get over you, as my claim suggests. Besides, Godric ordered me to protect you. If I bite you," at that point Sarah flared and started shaking her head in aversion but he continued in the same tone nonetheless, "then no other vampire or Supe would be able to touch you. That is the highest form of protection there is. I am simply following my maker's instructions, Sarah."

She stopped shaking her head and glared at him once more. "Don't pull that bullshit! What happened to finding alternative methods of protection anyway so I didn't have to bother you?"

He started to walk around her, giving her a wide berth, like a predator would. That was exactly how she felt – like prey being hunted. She gulped away her fear and tried to calm her heartbeat that she wasn't certain was thumping in fear…

"You're too valuable." His answer was simple, easy, as though it was the perfect justification to his actions. It only succeeded in making her feel like nothing more than one of his antiques.

"Like Sookie's valuable?" She pulled out the big card, determined to use his infatuation with the woman to get him to retract his statement.

He reacted exactly as she thought he would – his eyes lost their mischievous glint and they darkened in irritation. "Don't bring Sookie into this." His voice had turned from Viking Eric into Sheriff Eric, ordering her as though she was one of his subjects.

She couldn't help but press. It was in her nature to do so even though a good part of her mind was screaming, '_Abort! Abort_!' "Why not? How do you think this will help you win her over? Forcing her housemate to be his?" She couldn't help but add on a sardonic, "That's smart of you," with an eye-roll because she couldn't deny that she quite enjoyed antagonising him. Clearly, her survival instincts needed to kick in.

"I haven't factored her into this. Besides, she has made it clear that she's with Compton. But since you mention it, I suppose that claiming you may invoke her jealous side, so I will have to settle with the next best thing to her."

_Ouch_, she thought. That actually hit her with the impact he intended it to have. His words and his tone were cruel and intended to hurt her since she seemed to have wounded his pride a little by not being happy over his claim. Her arms dropped to her sides in defeat – after that comment, she had nothing else to say. She could have gotten over his "She's mine" declaration if he had claimed her because he wanted her, but since he was just using her as a pawn in his overarching game, she felt worthless and about two feet tall. She _hated_ that feeling.

'Because he wanted her'? She wondered where that thought had come from. Could she have really been okay with it eventually if he had wanted her? If she had been coveted by one of the most desired vampires in Louisiana? She couldn't deny that it was a pleasant thought – feeling desired and wanted by a 1000 year old vampire. Like in her dreams of him. In those, he'd made her feel safe and warm and _ohsogood_… but reality had distorted all those images of him. In her mind, he was back to being the rude and arrogant brat who had no feelings. His concern over her wellbeing after her mind experiments and after the Fellowship of the Sun drama was now worthless. His concerns were empty. Just like him.

She cleared her throat that had suddenly become thick and…oh no. It felt like she was going to cry. She would not cry in front of him. Ever. She pulled herself up to her full height, head held tall, and snapped, "You don't have 'the next best thing' at all. I told myself when I came here that if I chose to leave again I would, and I wouldn't let you stop me again. Well I'm choosing."

With that, she spun on her heel and marched out of the room, her eyes stinging with the tension of keeping the tears at bay. She knew he'd be able to smell them – smell her defeat, her patheticness, her _humanity_ – and that was simply not acceptable to her. Before she could even reach the stairway to collect some things together so she wasn't completely without clothing or her car keys, Eric was in front of her, his face reconstructing the fury it had held earlier with Isabel.

"You are not leaving."

His eyes bore into hers and she felt the familiar tug in her mind that she'd felt before. He was trying to glamour her.

"Just like you can't glamour a vampire, you can't glamour me. Move," she ordered him, successfully keeping her voice from shaking.

He did not move a muscle. "If you think I'm letting go of what is rightfully mine, you are sorely mistaken."

She scoffed as though she was trying to hide her apprehension. He looked _really_ mad. "If you think I'm going to let you stop me, _you're_ mistaken." She caught his eye before he could realise what she was doing and ordered, "Move," and when he obediently shifted to his left, she ran up the stairs and into the room she'd woken up in, frantically searching around the room for her car keys. She needed them to be able to go home. Clearly, she was no safer with Eric than by herself. By being 'his', the Fellowship's attacks wouldn't diminish. If they found out, they'd probably only get greater. It wasn't Supe attacks she had to worry about.

She was rummaging through the draws next to the bed when the door crashed open, revealing a pissed of Viking. Not turning around to look at him, she asked with the coldest voice she could muster, "Where the hell are my car keys?"

She heard, rather than felt, him rushing with heightened speed to her back. She stood up, ready to turn around and make him give her everything she'd need to leave but he'd trapped her between the drawers and his body.

"I told you not to do that to me ever again," he growled, and she heard his fangs drop in his rage. Or maybe it was being so close to her neck and her frantic heartbeat. Finally, her survival instincts kicked in and she started to panic about being trapped in a house alone with an angry vampire.

When she heard him inhale the scent of her neck, she tried to pull away but his body kept her pinned where she was.

"Eric," she said quietly, aiming for a different tactic. "Eric, stop…"

She had been idiotic and had forgotten that he was a predator. He hunted humans like her. He didn't have emotions, despite the charade he'd put on over the last few weeks. She had come to see him as a friend, someone who wouldn't hurt her. Shout, argue and maybe insult yes but physically hurt? No. It didn't seem in him. Evidently, she'd been wrong. She could only blame herself for provoking him and assuming that her power would get her out of trouble as it always did.

Eric wasn't Godric, and Sarah needed to remember that.

"Begging isn't becoming on you," Eric told her sternly as though he was disappointed at her lack of fight.

"I wasn't begging," she hissed, squirming to get out from his grasp. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He'd saved her life once, surely he wouldn't end it now. "Let me out from here and I won't try to get away…"

She felt the deep rumble of laughter in his chest. "And have you 'glamour' me again? It was irresponsible of me to allow it the first time. I will not make the same mistake again."

She wriggled again but it only succeeded in hurting her thighs that were pressed against the edge of the drawers. She winced at the slight pain and bent forward slightly in an attempt to ease the pain, accidently pushing her backside into Eric's crotch. When she heard a quiet hiss against her ear, she immediately pulled back up into a ramrod straight posture, the blood once again rushing to her face.

"Do not do that to me ever again either, if you do not desire the repercussions that _will_ follow." His voice was low again only this time, she noted that it wasn't low with restrained anger but restrained lust. _What had she done?_

She swallowed heavily, trying to get rid of those words that reverberated through her mind. "Don't worry, that won't be a problem." She had hoped that her voice would come out sharp and scathing as he was surely accustomed to by then, but instead it was low like his and didn't pack any bite.

"I haven't forgotten the look you gave me when you caught me in my office with…" He trailed off as he tried to remember the name of the southern girl with the childish voice who had glared at Sarah as she'd interrupted their time together. She could remember initially feeling awkward and disgusted at the girl's aspiration to let someone bite her who wouldn't remember her name. She'd not felt anything like Eric clearly did – she could explicitly remember the lust in his eyes as he looked at her. No, she told herself. She'd felt nothing. She'd been indifferent. Just like she was about to be once more.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she sniffed, still tense from her accidental brush.

"Neither do I, but I would _love_ to know," drawled a third voice from the doorway. Sarah felt Eric's head turn slowly to look at the door, the bottom of his hair skimming the top of her head lightly, sending a small shiver down her spine. A shiver of fear, she told herself determinedly.

Sarah didn't want to turn her head because she knew exactly who it was and she didn't think she was exactly a saviour for her. She would more than likely want to join in, Sarah thought dryly, since her and her maker seemed to share humans due to their close bond. There was no use looking at her if she wouldn't help her at all. She wouldn't share the look that was on her face with anyone. She didn't know exactly what it was, but it wasn't her usual composed mask.

"What do you want, Pam?" Eric asked exasperatedly, his tone hard as though he didn't want her there, even though he'd probably felt her coming from miles away because of their relationship. Why hadn't he pulled away to see what Pam wanted? Was her blood really that distracting or had he been too busy tormenting her?

"An odd sort of woman - who smelt disgusting, I might add - wandered into the bar not ten minutes ago looking for Sarah," Pam told the two of them, sounding as bored as a child in a physics lesson. "She said her name was Mary-Ann and told me to pass on the message that she'll come back some other time."

Sarah felt Eric tense behind her and heard his fangs retract into his mouth once more. Reluctantly, it seemed, he pulled away, sighing as though he was enjoying her capture. She figured that the Viking side of him probably was enjoying the chase of her running away – she supposed he'd never had a woman who could quite literally order him to do something. Sarah breathed deeply once she had gained some of her own personal space again and rubbed her hands over her thighs trying to soothe the burn there. She turned slowly to watch Eric wander over to Pam, muttering words to his child too quickly and quietly for Sarah to hear. She felt as though she wasn't wanted in the room any more but from the way the pair's eyes consistently flickered over to her, she figured that she was prominent in their conversation.

Looking around, Sarah tried to remember roughly how long it had been since she'd woken up. Having no sense of time or space seemed to disorientate her and she found herself dying to know what time it was. How long was it before Eric became dead to the world and she could sneak off without having to persuade him to leave her alone. She knew that once he was out of the picture, finding her keys would be the only thing between her and her freedom and she had all day to find them. The only person she could think of who Eric would tell to stop her was his haughty day-man Bobby and she knew he wouldn't be a challenge. He didn't think much of her so it would be a pleasant moment when she told him to find her keys and help her get out of the house. She looked forward to it so much, her face broke out into the tiniest of smiles, her lips barely tightening and her cheeks hardly moving, that made the burn in her legs disappear. Suddenly, she couldn't wait for the day to come. Over the last week she'd been anticipating the darkness to fall, for the moon to make its appearance and the sun to disappear from sight for time being so that she could spend time with people who valued her. Spending the day working from her room in Sookie's house was great and she was really appreciative of everything Sookie had done for her, but she couldn't help but feel like a burden, especially when Sookie wasn't working and spend the evening at home. She'd felt even worse after the fiasco with Tara, forcing Sookie to accept her friend moving in the elusive Mary-Ann. Thus, she'd taken to arriving at Fangtasia a little earlier than expected. The only downside of it was Ginger. Spending even just an hour with the woman in the bar was torture for her – the blonde didn't stop talking about the previous night's escapades, going into explicit detail about what the vampire who fucked her looked like, what his fangs were like and where he bit her. Hearing her give advice about the most pleasurable place for a vampire to bite wasn't Sarah's idea of a thrilling conversation. She hated to admit that her lessons and her banter with Eric were much preferred. She even preferred Pam's bored and sarcastic looks over Ginger's exuberance. Her favourite nights, however, were the ones where Eric would come to the house and they would practice there since it meant that she neither had to spent time with Ginger or feel guilt over intruding on Sookie's private life.

The thought was funny, she thought, since right then she'd have killed to have been back in Sookie's homely house with her bubbly smiles and her talks about Bill. She'd have killed to have been in Ginger's house, even. Just not there where the two vampires were purposefully excluding her from their conversation even though it obviously included her.

"Sarah, come with me," Eric said swiftly and abruptly, walking towards the door, Pam following.

His voice made her jump since they'd been using hushed tones until then. Sarah gave him a doubtful look as if to say, "Really?" but the returned glance he threw her made her follow. He didn't seem to be in the mood for any more cat-and-mouse games of theirs. She obediently followed him, glaring at the amused expression on Pam's face. She had already angered him enough and pushing him even further would be idiotic. Even _she_ realised that.

She cleared her throat and tried to sound indifferent and bored. She hoped like hell that it came out as that. "Where are we going?"

Eric didn't turn to look at her as he spoke. "I don't trust you alone during the day. You'll only try to escape and our conversation is far from being over." His tone of voice echoed the finality of his sentence –their conversation was far from being over, but it was to be put on hold until he could fit it into his busy schedule of being vampire Sheriff.

She noticed that he didn't answer his question. He had a tendency to do that – it was rare that unless he had to give something away, he would keep it to himself like it was a closely guarded secret. Even something simple like "what are we doing tonight?" He was too wise to give direct answers unless it was trivial and pointless. Sarah found it irritating, to put it mildly.

He led her down the stairs, Pam bringing up the rear of their line so she couldn't turn around and escape. He paused after a moment, muttering something to Pam which Sarah couldn't catch even if she had been straining to hear. Even though Sarah didn't hear the blonde's reply, she assumed that she'd responded in some way since she saw the back of Eric's head nod once and then they continued down the stairs. Once they were at the bottom, instead of turning left into the main part of the house, Eric turned to his right and pressed his finger to a blue circle of light that Sarah hadn't noticed before. Before she could even comprehend it, the wall (at least, what she'd thought was a wall) opened up to reveal yet another set of stairs. She expected Eric to start walking down them so naturally she was startled when he spun around and grabbed her arm (not gently, either, she noted) and pushed her towards the stairs.

Not enjoying the way the stairs looked – dark, dreary, damp came to mind – she struggled a little and tried to catch Eric's eye to get him to not make her go down there. She would have much rather been kept locked up in the room she awoke in.

"Eric, let me stay in the other room," she asked quietly as she struggled, putting on her best lawyer voice. It was demanding while kind and strong while soft. Usually, it broke down any judge or witness, but she'd never used it on Eric Northman before.

"Not a chance, my pet," he calmly said as though it was natural for him to call her that. She supposed it was in his world. Once claimed, humans were pets just like her kind claimed dogs or cats.

She felt even more worthless because of it. He was doing a fine job of tearing her down that night, she thought scathingly.

"Fuck you," she growled, stopping struggling and marching towards the stairs with determination. One night wouldn't kill her, she reckoned. She'd been through worse – she'd slept on the pleather of the Fangtasia booths. That was not pleasant.

Eric simply chuckled like what she'd said amused him, still not looking directly at her. "Sleep tight, my pet."

He winked, looking at her for only a brief second, before laughing outright to Pam and closing the door in her face, leaving her alone in the dark, cold and confused. It seemed the emotion had come full circle through the course of the night.

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**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I go on holiday soon (Paris and Rome, for anyone who cares) but I will try to get out another chapter before then. Thank you for reading/alerting/favouriting/reviewing – you're all so lovely! **


	19. The Worst Things In Life Come Free

**Please, please, anyone who is still with me, please don't hate me. **

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She was left breathless in the pitch black dark, not able to see where the first step was. She prayed that there would be some form of a light switch on the side as she ran her hands blindly over the cracked walls. They were cold beneath her shaking hands which only added to the awfulness of the situation she'd found herself in. Her hands eventually found the switch she'd been searching for and she pressed it, a dim light flickering to life in front of her. The room she was in was bare. It was simply a stone-walled room with a light dangling pathetically from the ceiling. Clearly, it was a room to drive someone mad. The worry about needing to use the toilet suddenly hit her. What was she supposed to do? Go in a corner? That was unlikely and she knew Eric knew. He was tormenting her for not being overjoyed by his claiming her.

She scoffed into the emptiness. That would be the day.

After walking down the stairs that felt like they'd cave in, she wandered around the room trying to seem indifferent as she scanned for cameras. When she found one in the far corner of the room, she put on her meanest expression and stuck her middle finger up to the camera. She didn't care who was watching. It was most likely Eric, but even if it was a stranger, they had allowed her to become imprisoned in this rancid room and were obviously doing nothing to help her. Still, she hoped it was Eric. She'd love to do something more than just make childish hand gestures at him but since she was stuck there until he got over his power trip, it would have to do.

She scanned the room for the cleanest spot she could find and reluctantly sat down, shivering when her legs made contact with the freezing floor. She'd probably get hypothermia during the course of the day, she figured dramatically. That would just make the day perfect. She wondered how the hell her life had become similar to a dramatic TV show. Before, she knew her job involved certain risks but she figured that she'd rather be helping the vampires than going against them. She loved her job and the satisfaction it brought her when she won a case or when she helped someone who wouldn't be where they were without her. The feeling of watching the opposition become frantic, grasping onto any strands of pathetic evidence they could find was heaven to her. It was _her_ power trip that kept her sane in a world where she had so little authority. She thrived under the pressure of the courtroom. But sitting on a freezing, damp floor in the basement of a vampire's home without food or water was not what she'd envisaged when she'd accepted her job and the promotions that followed.

Still, there was a tiny part of her that couldn't help but respect Eric and his decisions. He knew what he was doing – he always did. They both knew he'd get away with this because it was expected that he'd do something like this. She wished she had the courage and the tenacity to do something like this, even though she hated him for doing it to her. She was supposed to be the one feeling like she'd won. Right then, she felt so far from winning that it almost made her tear up.

Resting her head back on the brick wall behind her, Sarah closed her eyes in the hope of sleep being her refuge from the god-awful room she was trapped in. At least there wasn't anybody else with her who she'd have to make conversation with. She knew Eric would let her out soon enough. If he was serious about claiming her, surely he wouldn't his property to starve into skin and bones.

Sleep didn't come easily. She drifted in and out of lucidity, her neck forming knots so tight that she began wonder if they would ever leave. She awoke with a start numerous times, her neck snapping up and causing her to groan in pain and eventually, she gave up trying. She'd rather be tired than in agony. Having no idea of the time since she couldn't estimate how long she'd spent asleep – although she guessed not long – she didn't know how soon it would be before someone, anyone, came to fetch her. And when they did, she was leaving. Before anyone could stop her. She would use every trick she had collated over the years to get out of this situation she'd found herself in. Fellowship be damned – she'd rather face someone her own size than Eric fucking Northman. He could go to hell along with his stupid "she's mine" comment. Sarah Williams belonged to herself.

No sooner had that thought crossed her mind, the door in the room opened with a jolt, the slightly rusted hinges making it stagger as it did so. Sarah immediately jumped to her feet, her neck protesting the whole time even as she rolled it in an attempt to alleviate the pain. The bright light coming from the doorway made her shield her eyes in a dramatic manner, before she realised how cliché she looked and simply placed her hands on her forehead to keep her eyes in the shade. The figure turned out to be Eric's rude dayman, looking very pissed off.

"Ms Williams, I'm here to escort you to your room," he said in a contemptuous tone, looking at the room distastefully and her even more so.

Without speaking to him, Sarah all but ran to the exit not wanting to spend another second in her prison cell. As soon as Bobby Burnham shut the door behind her, she spun on her heel, making eye contact with him.

Only he wouldn't look at her.

"Bobby," she snapped sharply, trying to get him to look up in surprise but he still looked at the ground.

"I don't have all day, Ms Williams. To your room, please." He spoke to her as though she was a child, or an animal who couldn't understand. Like she was under _his_ control, rather than he under hers like it should have been right then. She should already be out of the house, she thought bitterly. She should be hailing a cab from somewhere or hitching a ride back to Dallas, back to Vanessa. She couldn't wait to be home. Godric had clearly overestimated her patience and her understanding, and underestimated how annoying she would find Eric. The pair were too opposite yet too alike to get along.

And she didn't like the way she felt when he claimed her. Angry beyond words, disappointed, bitter and…safe? He confused her in every way, sending her mixed signals that her body misinterpreted.

"_Don't think I didn't notice your reaction. Pupils dilating, heartbeat rising, the lovely smell of phemoromes…"_ She heard his voice in her head and the way the words were laced with lust. Blood lust or lust for her, she wondered?

"_Do not do that to me ever again either, if you do not desire the repercussions that _will_ follow…" _Her stomach muscles tensed slightly as she thought about how his voice had become quieter and restrained as he'd said that. They'd been so close to each other… his mouth right next to her ear—

She stopped herself from following that line of thought. She hated him. She needed to get away.

Then why did he affect her in such a way?

Back in the hallway of Eric's house, Sarah sighed in frustration. Clearly, Eric had told Bobby not to look at her. That was okay though, she thought. She'd had to deal with worse things before.

Turning back around, she quickly headed up the stairs and into the room she was in before, briefly wondering where Eric slept during the daytime. Not on this floor, obviously. He wouldn't trust her like that. Below ground? On the upper levels of the house she was forbidden to wander? _Probably_.

Once there, she tried again to look for her car keys, rummaging around in every place she could think of looking before eventually giving up. Eric must have them on his person, she thought. Her car wasn't her only means of escape though. She headed to the closed door of her room and pressed her ear against it. She could hear someone cough every now and then and sniffle as though they had a cold. Clearly, the person was there to watch over her and make sure she didn't try to run. Eric must've been delusional to think she wouldn't try anyway. He knew she was a fighter. She needed to get back to her life without Eric Northman and vampires controlling _her_. He'd ruined her carefully built professional walls. She hadn't even wanted to like him or him to like her when she came and she'd ended up being 'his'. Where did she go from there? Could she really be nothing more than a vampire's property? _Eric Northman's_ property? She would admit, even though she hated herself for it, that he was beyond attractive. She was fascinated by him. She liked the way he never took any bullshit, she liked his honest lies, she liked that he didn't make her feel she was worth less because she was human and she liked the way he tried to make her stronger. He understood her, she realised. He knew that she thrived off of power and strength because _he_ did. They were too similar. But surely if he knew that about her, he'd know that she hated his claim. She was worth more than that.

Before she could overthink it too much, she swung the door open with almost inhuman speed, causing the person to look at her inadvertently at the sudden movement. Before the guard could realise his mistake, she caught his eye and said, "You will tell me where my car keys are, where my things are, and how to get out." Her voice sounded desperate even to her own ears but the truth was that she _was_ desperate. She needed to be home.

His face became vacant as her power took over him, and his mouth formed the words she needed to hear before his brain told him otherwise. "Mr Northman has your keys and your things are locked in a cupboard in the living room. To get out, you need the door's security code from Mr Burnham." His voice was complete monotone, his eyes as bland as her conversations with her mother.

Her mind lost any hope it'd possessed. If her only way of getting out was by getting a code from Bobby Burnham, she was screwed. He wouldn't look at her – he was far too loyal to Eric and far too scared of what'd happen to him if he failed in his task.

"Is there no other way out?" she asked the guard helplessly.

"No, Ma'am."

Cursing silently, she tried again, hoping to find any sort of loophole in Eric's meticulous plan to keep her in the house. "Tell me, if you went to Mr Burnham and asked for the code, would he give it to you?"

The man seemed to think on this for a few moments before tentatively replying, "Perhaps, if I had a good reason."

She couldn't help but smile triumphantly, finding her loophole. A small part of her mind told her that it was too easy and to be cautious, but her pride seemed to get the better of her and she ignored it.

"Tell me, what constitutes as a 'good reason'?"

Again, the man paused before answering, "We were never told, ma'am."

Well, she thought, that wasn't any help. Needing time to think, she ignored the man in front of her for a moment until she came up with a few ideas that might work.

"Do you have a wife?"

The man nodded his head enthusiastically. "Yes ma'am. Lucy."

"Okay, here's what you're going to do for me…"

After relaying the plan to the man whose name she didn't care to learn, his face came alive with purpose. He was going to get her out of this house so she could think about things in more detail, away from the person who made her have to think so hard at all. She didn't like the idea of being a kept woman, especially in this capacity. She really was being _kept_.

Rolling her eyes at the thought, she slowly followed the man to the stairs while he went down them to Bobby. She heard the man clear his throat to get his attention before he spoke.

"Mr Burnham, sir, my wife's just called me to say she's ill. She needs me to go pick up my daughter from school straight away. I'll be back in a half hour, sir. Do I have permission to leave?" his voice had just the right tinge of despair at the situation and worry for his wife.

He was perfect, Sarah thought with a smug grin. Any person with a heart would let him go.

"If you must," Bobby sighed impatiently. "8761 is the code you need to leave. I expect you back in half an hour. I'll have Terry watch over the girl while you're gone."

Sarah grinned like the cat that had just caught the canary. In the back of her mind, she wondered what time it was and how long it would be before Eric woke up. Either way, he hadn't come to see her himself and she knew that if he was awake, he would. No, she told herself, he wouldn't rise from the dead for a while.

"Thank you, sir," the man who'd just helped her escape said politely, and as she peaked down the stairs underneath the banister, she saw Bobby grin dryly and walk away to another part of the large house.

Quicker and quieter than she'd ever thought possible, Sarah ran to the door at the foot of the stairs, punched in the code and ran out of the house, the man following her slowly, not knowing what to do.

Briefly, she threw a, "Stay here for half an hour and then return to the house. Thanks!" over her shoulder and ran into the daylight (she sent a silent prayer to God for giving her this break). Running down the extremely long (and obnoxious) drive, she squinted at the harsh sunlight that hit her face unapologetically. She must've looked a state, she remembered, but decided that she would use it to her advantage.

"_Please, stop for me, I've been attacked by my boyfriend and abandoned at the side of the road!" _

It would work so well. Everybody trusted a damsel in distress. Running as fast as her bare feet would allow - she was suddenly pleased and thankful of the fact that she hadn't changed into the clothes Isabel had bought for her, which would have included heels – she ran to the end of the drive and appeared on the long and empty road that it led to. Huffing at the fact that Eric couldn't have built his home near any sort of civilisation, she chose to go right on the road, slowing her sprinting down to a slower run. Nobody was coming after her. Bobby thought she was in her room, the man (her saviour) would reassume his position outside the empty room soon and Eric was still in his day death.

She must've jogged for about half an hour before she stopped for a break. In that time, not one single vehicle had driven by her. Not one person had been out for a jog or for a walk. She'd seen a total of three birds and that had been it in terms of live things in the area. Where the hell was she? Surely there was a town or _something_ near her. They couldn't be too far from Shreveport – Eric worked there. He surely wouldn't want it to take too long to bring the ladies back with him. Then again, she thought with a tint of bitterness, he usually just fucked them in his office.

Pushing that thought aside, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and started walking in the same direction she'd been going. Someone had to come soon.

She must've been walking for at least two hours when the darkness started to descend. Her heart sped up a little because she knew that Eric's blood was in her system – he'd be able to find her. Hopefully, she'd come across someone to take her to a house – any house – so he couldn't get in and she would have time to think how she'd get back to Dallas without him bothering her. Back to her job. Back to her life. Everything was so much simpler when she was there, and since her life revolved around defending vampires, that was saying something. She'd rather face and deal with the Fellowship on her own terms. Eric hadn't protected her very well, had he? She was better off on her own. A part of her felt a little sad at the idea of not having Eric for company but her aching feet reminded her that she would be fine without him.

Finally, just as darkness had almost completely settled, she saw a pair of headlights in the distance. Feeling like Scarlet O'Hara after getting back to Tara, her face lit up with relief and delight. She started to sprint towards the car, ignoring the awful burn in her feet that were cut slightly from pebbles in the road. When the car was closer to her, she began to wave her arms and wandered slightly into the road a bit more from the edge. She screamed for the person to stop, praying that they would take her back to Bon Temps. Or to Dallas. Hell, she'd go to Shreveport right then. She just needed a house, but the further away from 'She's mine' the better.

Because God was clearly a woman who understood what she was going through, the car slowed down to a halt beside her and the passenger window began to roll down.

Any prayers or good thoughts she'd sent to God in the last few hours were clearly not heard. She should've asked Godric for help from above instead.

"Sarah! What a coincidence, finding you here. You look awful, if you don't mind me saying so."

Mary-Ann's face smiled up at her from the car, her outfit indicating that she was going to some sort of party. Her hair was teased and twisted up on the top of her head and her eyes had an almost maniacal expression in them.

It was then that Sarah realised that it wasn't a coincidence at all. Unless Eric had given Mary-Ann his address along with directions, the lack of cars had made it clear that nobody came up here. Ever. So why was Mary-Ann there if not for her? How the hell had she known where she was?

For a fleeting moment, she wished she'd stayed at Eric's house. She knew vampires. She didn't understand Mary-Ann and that terrified her.

Putting on a fake smile that would please even Sookie, Sarah barked out a fake laugh. "I don't mind you saying so."

"Are you looking for a ride home?" Mary-Ann asked, kindness lacing her voice. What a joke, Sarah thought, her eyes darting around her looking for a way to get out of this situation. She rather carry on walking. But why else would she be there, walking barefoot on a deserted road, if she didn't want a ride? She couldn't say no without seeming crazy. She couldn't say yes without being dragged into whatever crazy shit Mary-Ann was involved in.

Fuck.

"Um…" She stalled, her arms folding around herself in a defensive way. For once in her life, Sarah couldn't talk her way out of something. "Please," she mumbled reluctantly, deciding that she had no other choice. She could only hope that Mary-Ann was susceptible to her 'gift' like vampires were.

Sarah climbed into the car slowly, her mind trying to formulate a plan. "Would you mind taking me back to Bon Temps? To Sookie?"

Mary-Ann pulled away as soon as Sarah shut the door. She spun the car around in a move that Sarah had only seen on TV causing her to cling onto the door handle for dear life. This woman was crazy.

"So," Mary-Ann started off in the happiest tone Sarah had ever heard, "why are you walking around barefoot so late?"

Somehow, Sarah didn't think, 'I was running away from my ex-best friend's child who's just claimed me for his own' would go over very well. Or it would go over too well and the insane woman beside her would turn right back around to take her back to Eric so she could see it all play out. How had her life become so fucked up?

"I was, er…" She started, not knowing what she was going to say. Fumbling frantically for something, _anything_, to say she was startled when Mary-Ann braked suddenly, causing Sarah to jolt forwards in her seat. This was it, she thought, the turning point in this car journey. Mary-Ann was going to either do something or say something to Sarah that she probably didn't want to hear or happen.

Turning her slightly panicked eyes to the woman, Sarah saw her pursing her lips and staring straight ahead into the darkness of the road. When a large smile that looked slightly forced took over her face, Sarah turned her head to see what she was staring at.

In the sharpness of the headlights, Sarah could make out Eric casually walking, hands in pockets, towards the car looking straight at Sarah. His face had an almost amused expression on it and she knew exactly what he was trying to say to her.

'_Did you really think it would be that easy?'_

* * *

**Prepare for the longest AN ever:**

**I wish I had a great excuse, really I do, for this accidental hiatus. But I don't. I just got caught up in real life and then I moved house and University started up but they're all pretty lame excuses when I know some authors update days after giving birth or something crazily dedicated like that. I'm so sorry for keeping you (if anyone is still even reading this) waiting for so long. I know how much it winds **_**me**_** up when authors leave me hanging on a story, so I hate to be one of those people but sometimes, life does unfortunately get in the way.**

**I have every intention on finishing this story. I still love the idea (even if I don't really know where it's going at the minute). I love the characters. I **_**want**_** to finish this. So if anyone's worried about me never finishing it or never updating, please don't. I will at some point – writing is a passion of mine and this is the place to do it. **

**THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING/ALERTING/FAVOURITING THIS STORY! Seriously, it makes me so happy to think that someone is enjoying what I do for fun. It amazes me that people actually want to read what I write. Thank you, thank you, thank you.**

**Also, this chapter was more of a filler chapter (which sucks) since most of the chapters before it have had some sort of major drama going on. Nothing too major here…yet.**

**Once again, so so sorry. Thank you to **_**kilera**_** who gave pushed me to write this. Please guys, bug/push me so I stop being a lazy bitch!**


	20. No Need To Speak, Now I Am Under

**Hi all! Again, I'm awful. I'm sorry. Again. Feel free to abandon this story, but for those who are persevering, thank you very much.**

**Thanks so much to the reviews and the messages to update and continue with this story. It might have taken me a ridiculous amount of time, but they really, **_**really**_** helped, I promise!**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter, lovelies! Please excuse typos, I really wanted this out as quickly as possible.**

* * *

She groaned into her hands that had immediately come to her face, resigned to the fact that God apparently hated her. Of course it couldn't have been that easy. He was 1000 years old and she was insignificant in comparison.

"This should be interesting," Mary-Ann said with a happy tone to her voice.

After looking over at her with the largest scowl she could muster, Sarah glared at Eric and arched an eyebrow of her own that said,_ "I got this far though, didn't I?" _If she was being honest, she was quite proud of her Escape Strategy even if Eric wasn't impressed in the slightest. If he hadn't been an ancient supernatural being who was smarter than her is most aspects, her plan would have been perfect.

Sighing, Sarah debated opening the car door herself and meeting him half way or staying in the car and waiting for him to come to her. Either way, her Escape Plan had failed so nothing she did would really matter at that point. Deciding that he may be more lenient if she went willingly, she opened the door slowly making her intentions clear and exited the car in an extremely reluctant manner. Her eyebrows rose with surprise when Mary-Ann exited the car also, looking far more pleased at the idea of what was going to happen than Sarah. It seemed the strange woman had something to say to Eric as well.

Even though Eric clearly saw the two women heading towards him, Sarah much slower due to her reluctance, he didn't take his eyes off 'his pet'. He gazed at her hungrily, licking his lips slowly as his eyes raked over her form. She didn't know whether to continue to glare daggers at him or look down uncomfortably since she knew he would be able to tell that somewhere inside her, she revelled in the look in his eyes. Nobody had ever looked at her in such a fashion except this creature that could have had anyone.

_Too bad he's such an ass_, she thought bitterly, but then cleared the thought from her head when she realised that he wouldn't be Eric Northman without his asshole tendencies. And sometimes – not at that moment for sure – she quite liked Eric Northman, asshole characteristic and all.

"Let me guess," Mary-Ann announced, which ended the debate as to where Sarah should look because her head swivelled round to stare at the woman in disbelief. Was she really going to try to talk her out of this? Or was Sarah right in her previous assumption and Mary-Ann would have been thrilled to see the drama play out? "Lovers tiff?"

She sounded like she was entertaining the games of two five year olds, Sarah thought. Eric glanced over to the woman with an indifferent, almost bored, expression on his face but Sarah knew him well enough to detect the hint of irritation in his eyes.

"It seems you've found something of mine," he said in response to her, his signature bored-sounding inflection a complete contrast to Mary-Ann's cheerful, excited tone. He didn't take his eyes off Sarah for a second, but it didn't make her uncomfortable. It made her feel _warm. _Even once what he'd said registered with her, she didn't want to rip his balls off for being so presumptuous. Maybe a little, she thought, but it actually made her want to sigh with a smile which didn't sit very well with her.

She'd become used to him and his way with words. She knew what he was like because she knew Godric. Even though they acted differently, she knew that deep down he was just like his Maker, just a little rough around the edges. But she'd never let him know that lest his ego grow even bigger.

"Yes, it seems I have," Mary-Ann replied amusedly.

Sarah glanced over at her trying to decide who was the lesser evil – Eric and his intention of locking her away until she gave over to his desire for her to be his, or Mary-Ann and her mysterious – somewhat scary – nature. She knew Eric. She knew he wouldn't hurt her in a physical sense. She wasn't sure she could say the same for the woman stood before her.

Sighing, but knowing that it was for the best, Sarah took a step towards Eric. She saw his eyes light up with triumph that she'd picked him but instead of stopping her procession simply to spite him, she rolled her eyes – a habit that she'd picked up around him – and continued walking.

Worried she'd seem rude and anger the woman, she turned to face Mary-Ann. "Thank you for the ride but I'll stay with Eric for now."

She kept her tone light but all three of them heard the undertone of coldness and force in her voice. It said that she would not stay with Eric for now but for always when it came to choosing between him and the raven-haired woman. It also said that her loyalties were with him, even if 'women should stick together'. Mary-Ann gave her a funny feeling she didn't like, a feeling that didn't come around very often so when it did, she listened.

Mary-Ann's lips pursed slightly but she gave the two of them a blinding smile even though her eyes were as hard as ice. "Of course. I'll see you around, Sarah." If it had come from someone like Sookie, it would have been a polite goodbye, but coming from her she was left in no doubt that it was a threat.

* * *

"You ran."

Eric had flown the two of them to Fangtasia when Sarah had protested against going back to his house. She didn't want to have to face the place that had held her against her will so soon after her failed attempt to escape. While Fangtasia had been the place she'd been kidnapped, it still felt safe to her. Or maybe it was just being surrounded by vampires. _And Eric,_ a small voice added in her head. Fangtasia just seemed like neutral ground and Sarah liked it in the bar – it was almost like a home to her after spending so much time there. His eyes had tightened slightly when she'd suggested it – he'd made his opinion on her being there clear – but it seemed like he didn't have it in him to argue such a menial point. He'd learnt to pick his arguments with her.

She and Eric were sat in his office, her on one side of the desk and he on the other. It felt much more like a business meeting rather than the friendly chats she was used to having and Eric was certainly not in a friendly mood. He'd not said a word to her as he'd flown them to his bar, but then she hadn't spoken either. His grip on her had been tight, but it was more of a possessive hold rather than a safety measure. She hadn't dared to look down and had kept her arms wrapped tightly around him. She told herself it was for her protection but if she was being honest, she liked holding him. In the few minutes they were wrapped up in each other, she could imagine that he was hers as much as she seemed to be his.

Fangtasia was still in full swing, vampires and fangbangers alike grinding on each other to the deep rumble of bass pouring through the room behind where she and Eric sat. They'd come in through the back entrance so nobody saw that Eric was in the building. She'd rolled her eyes at that – he must have felt like a celebrity.

"Yes," she replied simply to Eric's accusation.

He looked at her with an unwavering stare, his face not holding any emotion, good or bad.

"Why?"

She would have laughed if the question hadn't made her so angry she knocked the chair back from the force of standing up.

_Oh, Eric,_ she thought. _You just don't understand, do you?_

"What do you mean, why? You _locked _me up, Eric! Like some fucking animal! I'm not someone you can cage! I've just survived a kidnapping, if it escaped your notice, and being held hostage was not something I wanted to ever experience again!"

Truthfully, the thought of being permanently locked up in Eric's house hadn't even crossed her mind – she knew he would have let her go at some point and wouldn't have let any harm come to her.

_Didn't she?_

Either way, she wanted to make him just as angry as she had been. She knew very well he wouldn't like being dragged to the Fellowship's level.

"It wasn't the same and you know it," he hissed, his angry glare the only addition to his otherwise expressionless façade. "I told you it was just for the day, for your own protection!"

She actually growled through clenched teeth at that as she stormed around to his side of the desk. "If it was for 'my protection', I wouldn't have been so stupid as to leave during the day!"

"Which you did," he said sternly, standing up to meet her halfway.

They were chest to chest, hers heaving with anger and brushing against his every time she inhaled.

"Because you locked me up!" She shouted, thumping her fist on his chest. Of course, it did nothing but cause a dull ache in her fist. Nevertheless, his eyes blazed with renewed anger, his face suddenly coming alive with fury.

"Do you realise how _fucking stupid_ it was to leave just days after being kidnapped and nearly killed? They won't stop because you got away, Sarah, they'll just keep coming back!"

He wasn't shouting, she noted, but his voice had risen to the level it had the previous night when he'd been fighting with Isabel. She decided then that she never wanted to hear him shout – when Eric lost his cool, she was certain it meant an utterly dire situation.

Even so, his raised voice and his loss of composure made her falter with her next comeback. _He had a point._

"I-I told you I was leaving! You don't have to protect me anymore just because Godri—"

Before she even saw him flinch, she was pressed against the door as she had been when she'd first arrived in his office. His arm was pressed against her neck, but he wasn't yet pushing down. He was letting her breathe comfortably even though he held the dominant and threatening position.

His face was livid but he calmed down enough to take a few deep and unnecessary breaths in her face. Thus, when he next spoke it was in the calm, even bored, tone she'd become used to. "If you still think I'm protecting you simply for my maker's sake, Ms Williams, you are sorely mistaken."

His words struck something deep inside her, causing warmth to spread in her stomach but a shiver to run down her spine.

She stammered her way through her retort, her anger becoming less and less prominent the longer she thought about the situation and the longer she looked at him. It never even occurred to her to make him put her down. "Isabel was right, you j-just want to exploit me and my gift like you do with So—"

Like the last time she'd spoke, she never even saw him move before she realised what was happening.

He kissed her.

Sarah had been kissed plenty of times in her life. She'd had good kisses, when the kisser knew just how to stroke her tongue with his and just the right amount of pressure to put on her lips so it was comfortable for the both of them. She'd had bad kisses, where there was no rhythm or skill involved at all. She'd even had amazing kisses, passionate ones where neither of them could get enough of the other.

But she'd never been kissed like this.

He kissed her as though he would turn to ashes if he didn't. He kissed her like her mouth was filled with the sweetest dessert (or blood in his case) and he couldn't savour it enough. He kissed her with a dominance no man had ever kissed her with. He was so sure with his movements, so sure she would enjoy it. And she definitely, _definitely_ did.

She froze as soon as what he was doing registered but when his tongue immediately forced her lips apart, her eyes dropped shut of their own accord and her lips puckered to join his. It was though he was punishing her for leaving with this kiss, his lips so hard on hers they would be bruised and swollen by the end of it. His tongue was silken in her mouth, exploring with an almost desperate need and coaxing hers to join his. When it did, he moved his arms from her throat and it went to her thigh and pulled it up with no consideration for her comfort. He pulled with such force, she would have toppled over if she hadn't lifted her other leg around his waist.

Both of his hands went to her behind and gripped with a strength that would leave fingerprint bruises on her flesh. When she unconsciously ground herself against him, he growled low in his throat and his fangs emerged. She hadn't been expecting it – it wasn't something she usually had to think about when kissing someone – so they made her jump slightly and whimper when they cut into her bottom lip.

She tried to tear her head away from the sharp pain but he moved one of his hands to the back of her head and made it impossible for her to move. As soon as her lips started to bleed, he started to take long pulls and occasionally swipe his tongue across the plump flesh to take away any sting. When she heard him swallow, he pressed her impossibly further into the door and thrust in-between her legs, making her cry out into his mouth once more, but not in pain this time. Since she was only wearing thin yoga pants, she could feel the thick, hard length of him pressing insistently against her like he hoped it could tear the cotton away. The thought would have made her smile if she hadn't been kissing the Master of Making Out.

It was almost impossible to think when he was right there and making her feel like he was but not completely. Sarah could hear a small part of her mind shouting to _stop kissing him, you're angry at him remember? He's Eric Northman, he's just using you, he wants Sookie, he locked you up,_ _and he's Eric Northman!_

But he was also the person who had risked his (un)life to save hers, the person who had defended her even to her friends when he thought Isabel had insulted her, he was the one who had accepted her into his home and trusted her enough to let her into his life.

And those reasons seemed to make up for all the bad ones. He may have been _Eric Northman_, womanising extraordinaire, but she'd be damned if she was going to stop kissing Eric, the person she'd grown to consider a good person. The person she'd been gradually longing for since they'd first met. The person who made her heart beat wildly just by being in her presence.

So she wound her arms around his neck and threaded her hands through his extremely soft hair and held on for dear life while he turned her to slush.

His hands eventually moved to the bottom of the tank top she'd put on. Where most men would wait for a sign to continue, for the woman to bring her hands to his and urge them up slowly and gently, Eric didn't even pause for a second. He ripped the material upwards towards her breasts and further, forcing her to let go of his head to raise her arms lest they get in the way of someone with so much will. It also meant they had to stop kissing, and her eyes opened to half-mast, drooping slightly with desire. His eyes were ablaze still, just like during their argument, but this time she noted that they were lit up with lust, not anger. She also realised that he'd looked at her exactly like that during their fight and multiple times before. Had he been lusting for her then, and she'd just mistaken it for anger or boredom? Could she have been so dense?

He tossed the top across the room as though the mere thought of it offended him. He didn't bother to look where it landed; he just focused on her bra-covered breasts, heaving with her panting. He stared at them for a total of five long seconds, as though he'd never seen a pair before and was fascinated by hers. Then, as though he hadn't stopped at all, his lips attached to hers once more and his hands went back to being firmly planted on her ass.

After a few more minutes of making out like horny teenagers on a couch, Eric tore his mouth away to kiss down Sarah's jaw and neck which surprisingly didn't make her freak out at all. She knew vampires liked to bite someone when they had sex, or even if they were just turned on, but instead of scaring her, it thrilled her to think she would finally experience what she heard so many people raving about. Godric had bitten her before but not in a sexual way. They'd never been like that.

"The second I saw you in these pants," he growled quietly into her neck before snaking his tongue out to trace her vein, "I wanted to rip them off you. And then you had that dream right next to me…"

He punctuated his appreciation for witnessing that with an especially long and hard grind against her. She wouldn't have thought Eric to be much of a talker during foreplay or sex since he wasn't a talker in any capacity but she was certainly glad that he'd chosen to say something then and show his appreciation. She would wear yoga pants every day if they elicited such a reaction.

Just when his hands went to said pants to yank them away, his office door swung open to revel Pam with a man who Sarah recognised as the cook from the bar Sookie worked in, Merlotte's.

It seemed Pam had it out for the two of them to never have any peace.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Pam drawled, not sounding like she was even the tiniest bit sorry.

Eric sighed into Sarah's neck, slowly letting his hands drop and allowing her to slide down his body. When she rubbed against his erection, he hissed slightly, his eyes snapping open to stare into hers with an intensity she'd never seen. And Eric was _always_ intense.

As soon as he let her go, Sarah decided that searching for her top was pointless when they were by a closet that held a few Fangtasia t-shirts. Not bothering to look at sizing, Sarah quickly slipped a blood-red one over her head to preserve her modesty.

"What do you want Pam?" Eric asked his child bluntly, clearly wanting to get back to what they were previously doing.

The business part of Sarah's mind shook her head and promised that even if Pam did go, Sarah would stop this for tonight. The womanly part of her agreed wholeheartedly with Eric that Pam should, to be frank, fuck off.

"Lafayette wants to talk to you, and he looks like he's going to piss himself if you keep glaring at him like that."

Indeed, the cook – who Sarah now knew was Lafayette, one of Sookie's friends and co-workers – looked as though he was terrified to be in this place never mind being in front of an pissed off Eric.

"It had better be good, Lafayette," Eric told him, his tone light which only made it sound even more threatening. Eric sounded like he found the cook's terror amusing.

While Lafayette tried to stutter out a response, Pam looked over at Sarah and smirked. "At least Eric managed to get his face between your tits in some capacity."

Confused, Sarah looked down to the shirt she'd slung on. Sure enough, Eric's face was wedged between her breasts, a devilish grin on his face and his fangs just peeking out.

_I wish_, she thought.


	21. Give It To Me

**Quick reminder that this is set during S2/3. I've mixed things around plenty (sorry!) and I'm mixing in random storylines from across the seasons and adding my own. Creative licence, ftw.**

**Also, as you could probably tell from the last chapter, we're edging slowly (how else, really?) into 'M Rating' category. I'm not the best at lemons/limes/writing about people getting off but I'll give it my best go and hope I don't sound like a moron. **

**PLEASE let me know if it's just cringey/awful. **

**Also, Sarah is supposed to sound kind of needy and desperate in this chapter. Don't lie to yourselves and tell yourself you'd be much cooler around an Eric Northman. You'd want to jump his bones too.**

**This is sort of filler, but needed. Sorry! (This is such a long AN, my bad!)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

While Lafayette stammered his way through a report on the workings on Bon Temps, Sarah sat on the couch with the large t-shirt pulled around her knees to preserve at least some of her modesty. She realised it was completely pointless since everyone in the room had surely seen her half-naked anyway, but it made her feel psychologically better if she held on to a shred of her dignity.

She wasn't really listening to what Lafayette was saying, for she had better things to think about: the toe-curling, breathlessness-inducing kiss she had just received was at the top of the list. It didn't surprise her that it had happened. She wasn't going to mentally berate herself for something as innocent as a kiss between two people who were clearly attracted to one another.

_There was nothing innocent about that kiss,_ she thought somewhat smugly. It was nice to feel as though Eric wanted her in the capacity she had moments ago. Caught –up-in-the-moment kisses were the best. But that still didn't stop her from thinking about what Godric would say. Would he be pleased that she and his child were getting along so well? Would he encourage their blossoming…friendship? Or would he reprimand the both of them for foolishly complicating the arrangement he'd set up to protect her?

For once, Sarah just didn't know what Godric would have said.

It worried her slightly that Eric was not exactly well known for keeping the women he 'played' with any longer than a night. Even that was a push – they usually only held his interest for a few hours before he swiftly had them escorted out and told not to come crawling back to him. He rarely liked to fuck the same woman twice. It didn't worry her for the reasons other women surely fretted about it. She didn't expect a relationship from him; the thought alone almost made her laugh. She didn't _want_ a relationship with him. What she did want, and need, was protection. That was the reason she came and she had to admit that after the Fellowship debacle she needed it.

So if she did end up giving in to her slowly-building attraction to him – and she had no doubts that she would regret it; she was sure it would be worth it – would she also be sacrificing the pseudo-friendship and trust she'd worked so hard to achieve?

And then there was Sookie. The woman Eric really wanted. Could Sarah be with someone who really wanted the kind, bubbly woman she was staying with? Who had let her into her home without a fuss? It would be strange to imagine that Eric would rather it be the buxom blonde beneath him instead of her.

Shaking herself out of the poor self-esteem cycle she was surely sinking into, Sarah heard Jason Stackhouse be mentioned. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out a sharp, "What about Jason?"

Following her questiont, the room was silent except for the muffled thumping of music from behind the door Pam had closed behind her on her way out. Sarah asked what Jason had to do with anything again, feeling nosy since she'd actually found the guy interesting and genuine. Plus, she needed to look out for him somehow if only to repay Sookie for her hospitality. Letting a stranger into you house was not something Sarah would ever take lightly.

Eric didn't reply and Lafayette was still fidgeting with his flamboyant clothing and looking around the room as though he'd rather be anywhere – _anywhere_ – but this room.

Sarah sighed. "Are you just going to ignore me?"

"I'm thinking," Eric replied, turning to face her fully, hands in his pockets. "How well do you know Jason Stackhouse?"

Sarah blinked. "Eric, we met for about three minutes when he came to find Sookie. He woke me up, asked me to a party, I turned him down. After that it was just at that party, and I doubt he remembers." She paused. "Why, what's going on?"

Eric continued to stare at her and lightly threw out, "Jason's using."

For a second, it didn't register with her. Thinking Eric was going mad, she thought _using what?_ Drugs? Surely he wouldn't be stupid enough to deal V again.

She sighed, placing her hand lightly on her forehead. She knew how bad drugs could get; it wouldn't harm a vampire if one ingested it but it didn't make them feel light and fuzzy either. Inevitably, however, it didn't mean much to vampires. They were quite careful about stopping before they consumed too much and usually stayed away from impure blood of those proportions. Clean, unpolluted blood was best, she knew. Sweet, kind, innocent and naïve virgins were the crème de le crème of the vampire world. Hence the rules they had to enforce to keep vampires away from children, otherwise they would feast of their unsoiled blood like an alcoholic would drain liquor.

"Why does this affect you?" Since it wouldn't be much of an issue to the vampire world, why would a Sherriff require a simple cook to tell him the boring details of the human world. Millions of humans used. She hoped and prayed it was just drugs. Not V. _Not V._

All Eric had to say was one syllable for Sarah's heart to drop to her feet. "V."

She knew the punishment for it and she surprisingly agreed with it. She'd seen first-hand the damage Drainers did to their prey – it was disgusting. "Sookie won't be pleased with you if you kill her brother." She'd pointed out the same thing last time. She had stopped Eric from killing him in return for 'fealty'. Two offences was bad.

She didn't know why she said it. She'd just shaken herself from the pity party in her mind for becoming mildly attached to a man who practically loved someone else and then she just brought up her name so casually? She should've never mentioned Sookie's name again in Eric's presence. She selfishly liked the idea of him thinking of _her_ when they were together. Besides, he knew he couldn't kill Jason. He knew everything.

"I'm not going to kill him."

Sarah blanched as the lawyer in her came out to play. "But it's the law. It's his second offence...One is enough... It's law, Eric."

Eric smirked slightly, like he knew she would say that and knew she couldn't help it. As she focused on his lips, she couldn't help to replay the memory in her mind of those lips on hers, teasing, taking, bruising…

"I didn't say I was going to do nothing. Just that I won't kill him. Sookie's useful and killing the only person left in her family would not bode well for us."

"So what will you do?"

His answering devilish grin was the only response she needed.

"No way."

* * *

The next night saw Sarah back in Eric's office but for far different reasons than the previous night. She was dressed in a white dress Eric had put her in that clashed with her tanned skin. It was entirely backless but had long sleeves and a high neck that preserved her modesty slightly. She didn't think it would matter what she wore since Jason had been attracted to her in her pyjamas with bed-hair and no make-up, but Eric had insisted. He'd even growled slightly when she'd emerged from her room at his house.

"I'm assuming that means I look the part?" She'd asked bitterly when she'd heard him.

He'd not replied but when he turned to leave the house – assuming she'd follow – she caught a glimpse of fang peeking out that told her that she did, indeed, look the part.

If she was being honest, she was quite excited for this. It was the first time she'd actually used her gift for good rather than to get something she wanted. She wasn't sure that doing something that Eric wanted was a lot better but it was at least better than selfish reasons. And she had to admire Eric's adamant opinion that Jason not be killed.

The plan was astoundingly simple – she would invite Jason here (and Eric was sure he'd come) and she'd simply ask him where he was getting his V from since Lafayette swore it wasn't from him and he didn't know any other dealers. And he swore up and down he didn't know of anyone with balls enough to sell V in Bon Temps. But she would use her 'skill' to ask him so they knew he wasn't lying to her. Once it had been established who was issuing the V (and therefore attacking vampires and draining them), Eric would find them and end their probably lucrative business. _Probably by ending _them_,_ Sarah thought.

Eric had practically lectured Sarah on safety measures so they didn't have a repeat of the last Fellowship debacle. She thought he didn't come across as nervous or worried – if Eric ever worried, then they were in serious trouble – but he did seem mildly concerned. She presumed it was because he thought he'd failed Godric's dying wish despite the amount of times she told him otherwise (after all, she reasoned with him to no avail, they'd have taken her anyway and _he_ saved her).

Alas, Sarah wasn't worried about the Fellowship. She was slightly worried about tricking Jason and using her persuasion tactic on someone so unsuspecting but she reasoned that Eric was being lenient. A lot of other Sheriffs would kill Jason on sight simply because he had V in his blood. Sarah had once asked Godric how he could tell the difference between V and vampire blood given willingly and his response had made sense: one, because there was distinctly a different smell between vampire blood ingested fresh and the drug V. He'd said the V smelt almost rotting because it had not come from the source. And secondly, no vampire would willingly give his blood to a human without biting them also and most V users had not been marked by a vampire.

Sarah was therefore glad that she would be able to resolve such an issue without hurting her roommate's family. She wouldn't want to repay Sookie in such a way.

"You understand your role?" Eric asked her as he went to sit behind his desk, picking up some papers Pam had left there for him on the way.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "For the last time _yes_. I'm not stupid. I get it."

She saw Eric's lips pull up slightly behind the sheet of paper he was reading as though he enjoyed antagonising her.

She must admit that she enjoyed their banter, but she'd enjoy him antagonising her in other ways…more sexual ways… far more. She'd not been able to stop thinking of the previous night. They'd hardly spoken when they'd arrived at his house once more and he'd just given her an incredibly loaded look as he went "to ground" for the day. He actually went to a lovely room with plush, luxurious bedding and no windows. He'd let her see it when she'd asked nicely before he all but threw her out. She supposed he didn't trust her with his vulnerable state just yet, which she couldn't blame him for or resent.

When night had come once more, Sarah had awoken to the strange sensation of being watched. Sure enough, Eric had been stood right over her bed looking down at her hungrily. She'd sleepily realised that her tank top and panties hardly left anything to the imagination but she was far too worn out from the previous night to worry about it. Besides, he'd seen many women naked and had nearly stripped her to even less just hours ago. So she just yawned at him to leave which he did after giving her the dress she currently wore.

So naturally, she was wound tight with sexual frustration. After coming so close to a much needed release the night before, Sarah was almost embarrassingly needy for something – _anything_ – that involved Eric and orgasms.

Sarah squirmed slightly where she stood and looked at the shoes she wore in an attempt to distract herself. They were high, nude pumps that Isabel has brought with her; nice, Sarah thought, but probably not worth the extravagance the red sole indicated.

She nearly fell off said shoes when Eric appeared right in front her, looking down at her intently. Her eyes shot up to his as she held onto his muscular arm to steady herself.

"Keep thinking those thoughts," he muttered, stepping impossibly closer. Sarah stepped back in an automatic response she didn't like (after all, she'd just been thinking of what magic he could probably do with his hands) but left her hand on his arm, dragging him towards her a little more.

"I didn't know you were a mind reader," she teased huskily.

And then he whispered the sexiest sentence she'd ever heard.

"I can smell how wet you are for me."

She opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out. Just a large exhale of breath.

She wished she could say something witty, something teasing like, "how do you know I wasn't just thinking of Johnny Depp?" but she knew it was pointless. They both knew who was responsible for her state. She also wished she could do something she might have done with someone else, someone less consuming – she would have grabbed the front of their pants and squeezed, making a cocky comment in return.

She couldn't even consider doing something like that with Eric. He was the one in charge of this and she somehow thought he always would be. He would dictate the situation always. And she didn't even mind.

"Pam's about 10 seconds from walking in again to tell us that Jason's here otherwise I'd have you now."

Sarah almost growled with frustration and wondered if Eric would mind if she killed Pam.

"Later," was all he had to say to melt the frustration into lust.

She'd never seen someone look so out of place as Jason did. It was obvious he didn't belong in his jeans and casual shirt not from the clothes he wore or his sunshine-kissed skin or the naïve innocence in his eyes… it was obvious he didn't belong from the way he smiled as though he did. He looked almost proud to have walked into such an establishment. Like he didn't expect he would pull through and turn up.

Sarah, too, felt almost proud that he had done. Showing up to a vampire bar with V in his system required balls.

Not wanting him to be kept waiting in a room of vampires not half as forgiving as Eric was being, Sarah rushed over to him and put a somewhat flirtatious smile on her face.

"Jason, you made it."

He whipped around with a goofy grin on his face. "Hey! Yeah, I didn't have any plans tonight so I figured – what the heck? Let's see what all the fuss is about." At this, he looked around the bar as if he was at a theme park.

It was cute, Sarah decided. He was cute, too, but she didn't want cute.

She wanted sarcastic, witty, almost mean Eric Northman. And she wanted this night to be over so she could finally enjoy the God waiting for her. (She internally thanked God that Eric wasn't telepathic – she'd give him an even larger ego and/or a complex if he could hear all the compliments she kept giving. She supposed being horny would do that to a woman.)

"It's not much different to your average bar, really," she admitted, and it wasn't that different if she was honest. Sure, the occasional biting on premises occurred (she'd walked in on Eric feeding once) but it wasn't permitted for the customers. It happened, she knew, but it was rare.

Jason shot her a doubtful look like he thought she was on drugs.

_Which reminded her…_

"Hey, let's go somewhere quieter where we can talk."

The emotions that went over his face confused Sarah a little. First he looked confused, then realisation seemed to dawn and his mouth spread into a cocky, triumphant grin.

"Sure," he replied chirpily and slowly, like he was in on a big secret.

Sarah stared at him for a moment before shrugging it off and walking towards an alcove in the room. As she walked, she spotted Eric sat on his throne watching her intently with a smirk on his face like he knew something she didn't know.

When they reached the area that was separate from the rest of the club and she pulled him closer with her arm with the intention of catching his eye and getting to work. But his eyes weren't on her. They were closed. And they were closed because his lips were coming to hers at an alarmingly fast rate.

Before she knew it, Jason Stackhouse was kissing her. Her eyes were wide with surprise and she'd frozen the second she'd realised what he planned to do. She had to admit he was a good kisser but after kissing Eric, who'd had 1000 years to practice, he paled slightly in comparison.

Pulling away sharply, she hissed, "What the hell?" before catching his eye and getting to work.

The sooner this was over, the sooner she could release the tension that had been building for what seemed like forever when she thought about it.

"Are you on V?" she asked, almost testing her control.

"Yes."

She almost heard every vampire's head swivel round to stare at them but she didn't take her eyes from Jason's.

"Where are you getting it from?"

"A guy in New Orleans."

New Orleans? That wasn't close in the slightest.

"What's his name?"

"I don't know, he's never told me."

She paused, thinking. "So how did you know who to buy from?"

"I didn't. I found a package on the floor by the construction site I work at and did some. There was an address inside that I wrote and… well, asked for some more. They gave me some."

What? That wasn't how V Dealers did business? A return address? It wasn't some fancy letter to your grandma, it was V – an illegal substance that would kill you if it got into the wrong hands. Who was stupid enough to do something like that? And what was a package of V doing in Bon Temps from New Orleans?

It seemed Eric was wondering that too, as he appeared behind Jason, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and dragging him to his office. She assumed he wanted her to talk to him without the audience.

She followed the pair of them to his office, subtly glancing around to see who was watching them. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be more relaxed since Eric took over. The people of this area clearly had faith in their Sherriff.

As soon as she shut the door behind herself, Eric barked instructions at her.

"Ask him where this site is."

She did as he ordered and Jason told them exactly where he worked in perfect detail.

Eric was quiet then, clearly thinking as he paced slowly back and forth. Not flustered. Never flustered.

"Why would someone be dealing V right under the Queen's nose?"

Sarah was fairly sure it wasn't a question for Jason, but was just a question he was wondering out loud.

"The Queen? Um, Sophie?" She struggled to remember the name Godric had told her. She'd never had to learn the specific names in the hierarchies of the US for her job, otherwise she'd have to remember a lot of names. A basic knowledge of the way it went in Vampire World was enough.

"Sophie-Ann," Eric responded, preoccupied with the thoughts in his head.

As if realising Jason was still there, he waved a hand at him. "Get him out of here."

Not wanting to be rude, Sarah started to walk Jason to the back door of the building. She would have walked him to his car but she didn't think it would be particularly safe crossing the empty parking lot after her last experience there.

She had no intentions of being burned alive again.

"Thanks, Jason. I'll call you soon and you can give me the tour of Bon Temps you said you'd give me?" She felt awful just leaving him alone after using him for information.

Thankfully, she didn't have to.

"You can go back to Eric. I need to deal with this." Pam strolled out the back door, arms folded like she'd rather be anywhere but there with Jason Stackhouse.

Sarah sighed. "What are you going to do to him?" She didn't want him injured for just making the simply mistake of trying something he found on the floor.

Pam rolled her blue eyes that were covered in dark make up for the tourists of the night. "Glamor. What else?"

Sarah nodded. "Don't hurt him."

"You sound like Sookie – I'm-so-innocent-and-naïve-and-stupid Stackhouse."

Woah. So Pam didn't like Sookie. Sarah stored that information for a later date and made a promise to herself to not get on Pam's bad side.

Sarah looked around to Jason who seemed to be eyeing Pam up with interest. It looked like her work was done for the night.

She thanked Jason for coming and walked back through the door to where Eric would more than likely still be pondering his next plan of action.

Hopefully, she thought, it would be fucking her.

* * *

**Pretty speedy for me, huh? Well it is my birthday and I've been given lots so this is part of my Pay it Forward, I guess! And I also go on vacation tomorrow so I wanted to get this out (hence the shortness/fast-pacedness of it. Sorry if you didn't like it because not much happened, but I suppose it can't be gogogo all the time). **

**THANK YOU FOR READING! Review? **


	22. Won't You Wrap The Night Around Me

**Warning – M rated. Not much plot advancement. But hey, it was needed, we can all admit to it!**

**If you're reading this, I'm really sorry about the lateness. It is ridiculous, I know. You're brave for continuing :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

As she re-entered the bar and walked around towards the office, Sarah pondered the situation at hand some more. All she knew for certain was that someone in New Orleans was dealing V in an extremely unorthodox manner. Whoever it was had guts; selling V with a _fucking return address_ was essentially suicide if it fell into the wrong hands. Whoever was dealing it was beyond lucky that it had been found by Jason Stackhouse. From what she'd heard and seen, the Stackhouse family seemed to attract more trouble than she'd come across in her life. And she was a vampire lawyer.

Why would Jason get caught up in V again? Was there something else she'd missed when questioning him? Surely he wouldn't be stupid enough to do it again after the fright Eric gave him last time. It surely wasn't worth the risk.

She also knew that they needed the address of the seller so they could find out who it was. However, despite her vast knowledge of the subject of law and power in the US, she wasn't entirely sure if Eric had any jurisdiction in New Orleans. That was the Queen's territory. If Eric started meddling in affairs that were not his to interfere with, Sophie-Ann would be pissed off that someone was encroaching on her space. Would she consider it enough to punish him? If his intentions were good and he was trying to help capture a clear criminal, she couldn't fault him for such a thing. Godric wouldn't not have done such a thing, so why would another powerful vampire?

_Eric can't be punished_, Sarah thought with an astonishing sense of finality. _Not while he has me this sexually frustrated. _

Speaking of which, she noticed the way Eric's eyes darkened when she walked into the room and they were alone once more. All she wanted to think about or do was go back to the house and let him fuck her senseless and damn the consequences. But she knew that they needed to discuss a plan of action. V was a serious accusation if caught with it in your system but it was an entirely different ball park if you were collecting it and selling it off. Dealers had to get the blood from somewhere and it was usually an unwilling contribution. Attacking a vampire was against the law and it was cruel, and while vampires could often be cruel also, humans seemed to have enough sympathy in the world while vampires had too little. They needed at least one person on their side and Sarah liked to think she could have been it. When she was in a courtroom, she even felt like she was the best person for the job, the best ally to the vampires who had been misjudged and persecuted from their first day of 'liberty'.

"You are rather useful," Eric said blandly, staring at her with eyes that were anything but bland.

It was the highest form of a compliment from him. He was admitting she wasn't a useless vessel of bones and blood and it made her want to smile so wide it would hurt her cheeks. And make her look absolutely ridiculous.

"I told you. I bet you're glad you didn't kill me the day we met." Her voice was positively gleeful, her flirtatious tone mingling with excitement at what she hoped was coming. _Or who_, a sneaky voice in her head added with a salacious wink.

"Sometimes. Other times, like when I placed you in the basement for your safety, I wished I had. It would have saved me a lot of difficulties."

Her smile faltered a little at the mention of locking her up. Being held captive like an animal had not been a highlight of her time with him and bringing it up didn't help his case, but she had decided that she wanted to forget it. It was what he did in life – conquer. He was an animal.

But so was she. She'd be damned if her own pity-party cockblocked her.

She could forget about that blip on the radar because if their positions were flipped she would have done the same. Godric had always known she was ruthless and unyielding. It seemed that he had been right; it had just taken knowing Eric to realise such a thing.

So she straightened her back and cocked her hip to the side, placing a hand on it in a sign of impatience. Sighing, she asked, "So are we going to fuck or what?"

* * *

She practically vibrated all the way home. It had been too long; she needed release. Their attraction had been slowly building for weeks now, their banter merely extensive foreplay. She knew it, he knew it and from the way she had looked at them as they left, Pam knew it too.

From the way Eric was driving, it seemed that the night (and the nights running up to it) had riled them both. His foot was to the floor, weaving in and out of the minuscule amount of traffic on the roads with an amazing gracefulness that only a supernatural being could possess. _Except her, of course_, she thought bitterly.

She also noticed the way he looked at her exposed legs at any given point and he glared at the back (or lack thereof) of her dress whenever she moved in a certain way that exposed it, as though his stare alone would wither the material and leave her bare.

They were silent all the way, not that it took them a long time to get home. The last thing either of them had said was her blunt, please-just-do-me question and after that Eric had simply growled, grabbed her wrist and yanked her to his car. That alone said more than any response to her question ever could. Sarah was grateful that the space between them wasn't filled with awkward small talk and fidgeting. They were both adults who wanted sexual gratification from the other and nothing else; no romances, no promises, no words. Nothing but the perfectly sweet and sinful oblivion of a thorough fuck.

The only reason Eric was out of the car before she was was purely because he was a vampire. As soon as he slammed the breaks on she shot out of the door like a bat out of hell, walking towards his door without a backward glance at him. She knew very well that he would be right there, as eager and willing as she was. Indeed, he had left the car before she did and whizzed right up to the door and opened it so that she could just walk straight in. Like it was her home too.

She headed for the stairs, thinking that they would go to her room as she knew for a fact he didn't bring women back to his 'room' to have sex with them. In fact, he didn't bring them to the house at all. He usually just kept them at the bar. Either way, she assumed he would not want her in his lair as it was a private, almost sacred, area for a vampire. They were vulnerable there. So when he tugged her towards the room he 'slept' in instead of taking her to the room she now called her own, her eyebrows nearly shot into her hairline.

Once they were in the room, he immediately got to work. Slamming her up against the door in a position she was so used to being in by now with this man, he kissed her with such unrestrained passion and need and want that her knees immediately buckled. In a fashion similar to the last time they had kissed, he pulled up her legs around his waist, pushing his impressive erection into where she wanted him so much. His hips swiveled tantalizingly and matched the rhythm of his tongue in her mouth. Every thrust of his hips sent a shock of electricity through her body, from her head to her toes. She was a live wire, all for him.

"Just…" she panted, needing more than he was giving. They'd been here before and she refused to let him stop again. He would be inside her before the night was over, hopefully more than once. "Just…"

_Just what?_ She thought. _Throw me on the bed and have your wicked way with me? Just have me up against this door? What did she want right at that momemt?_

"Just what?" he murmured throatily, his voice thick with lust. "What do you want, Sarah?"

Her name of his lips at such a moment made her arch her back into his body a little. It had never sounded so good. "You," was all she could say. "I want you inside me, now."

She had never been good at being assertive in bed, but mostly she'd always had to take the reigns as men were often intimidated by her job or her personality, she never knew which. She usually despised it as it usually made her uncomfortable, but telling Eric what she wanted didn't really bother her at all. He knew perfectly well how much she wanted him. He'd witnessed the dream, he'd seen her reaction to the kiss against the office door. Surely he knew that she wanted him to be with her in every way a man can be with a woman, _in every position_, more than she'd ever wanted anything else?

If he didn't know such a thing, she vowed that he would before the night was through.

He growled again in response to her words and the fangs that she had become so used to seemed to grow impossibly longer.

While some girls may have wanted a build-up, a slow burn, a run-up to the deed, Sarah did not. She just wanted gratification in any way. But not from simply anyone – she wanted him. And it seemed Eric had similar thoughts. They attacked each other's clothes at the same time, him taking less than a second to get her completely naked and her dress completely ripped and her taking less than 10 (and that was with the help he provided her in removing his shirt).

Still carrying her, he appeared before the bed and unceremoniously flung her onto it, his eyes devouring the sight of the little tanned girl spread-eagled naked on his bed. _Finally. _He had wanted this since the second he saw her, whether he had known it at the time or not. It wasn't just a physical attraction either, Eric had come to realize The bond they shared over their intimate connections with Godric seemed to have linked them together regardless of whether they wanted to admit it. There was plenty of physical attraction too, that was for sure, but he admired the girl. Despite her initial irritating nature, he admired her courage, her strength of character, her maturity and her intelligence. He admired Sookie too, as she so often enjoyed pointed out, but this was different. He could imagine Sarah as a vampire, just like he'd once been able to imagine Pam as one. He could see her living only by the night, feeding and fucking for all eternity. He could imagine her going far politically – god knew she had the tenacity for it. He couldn't see Sookie as one of his own – she was sunshine and daisies and Sarah was the moon and mystery. Yet she was not another Pam. This little girl that was panting for him right then was his key to Godric, to reason, once more. And occasionally, when she wasn't with him to remind him of all the reasons he enjoyed her company, he despised her for it.

But that was no matter then, he thought. She was ready and waiting for him and he was harder than he'd been in centuries.

She saw his determination before he pounced. She knew that this was it. There was no going back.

Before she could comprehend it, he was on top of her and inside her in one fell swoop.

She moaned in ecstasy at the feel of him where she'd been craving him and he hissed at the sudden change in temperature. He was cold and she was warmandwetands_ofuckingtight_ and he fit perfectly inside her.

She gasped as he immediately started moving in and out in a steady rhythm that made her toes curl around his legs. It was like his body and hers were the same. She knew exactly when to move her hips with him, exactly when to dig her nails into his back to make him thrust harder, exactly how to kiss him so that his hips seemed to involuntarily snap forwards and grind deliciously against her.

He knew exactly how to make her want to laugh and cry with longing at the same time, it seemed. She could feel the pressure building as he continued to pound into her with precise perfection, each thrust of his hips pushing her even closer to the edge. It was better, she thought, than she could have ever imagined. She was in agonizing pleasure but she noticed with a pout that he didn't look affected in the least. The fangs protruding from his mouth were the only giveaway of how much he wanted her, as well as, of course, how hard he was inside her. She wanted to smirk with the new challenge that had formed in her head – make Eric Northman lose his infamous cool.

In less time than she could ever have dreamed possible, she was moaning out his name like a harlot, gripping onto him so tightly it would have hurt a human. He didn't seem to notice or care about her roughness, except when she dug her nails in hard enough to draw blood and dragged down, blood following her trail. When she did that he groaned in pleasure, throwing his head back and slamming into her so hard it actually hurt a little. That wasn't enough for her though. She wanted him panting with need as she was.

Her orgasm swept through her like a tidal wave, taking over every sense of her body at once and making her scream in sheer and utter rapture. Why had she abstained from him for so long? She should have jumped his bones the second she walked in – this was worth all the drama she'd had in her life since she came to Louisiana. This was worth the frustration of extending her powers. She could almost reason that it was worth nearly getting burnt alive for, but the sensible part of her brain told her that that was just a little too far.

He didn't slow down even a little. He continued to fuck her senseless, despite her sensitivity, and it made her even more determined to have him as wild as she was.

Shoving a vampire onto his back was, she thought, approximately a billion times easier when he had his erection inside her. She was certain that if he didn't want her to, he could easily have stopped her without pausing in his movements for even a second, but he let her flip him onto his back and take control of the situation.

She was sure any other woman would have immediately started bouncing on him, riding him like their lives depended on it but she was determined not to be "any other woman" to him – she didn't expect anything out of this encounter except orgasms and respect.

So she just sat back on his legs, relishing in the feeling of him all the way inside her sex. She sighed a little as she just _felt_ – he really was impressive, she thought. No wonder he was cocky all the time.

He looked up at her in confusion and irritation. She simply smirked in response.

"Move," he growled at her, forcing her hips to rock forward with his hands as they spanned her butt.

"Tell me you want me," she teased, clenching her muscles around him as hard as she could and then releasing.

If it were any other situation, the expression on his face would have made her gulp in fear. He looked…scary. And extremely horny.

"If you don't start moving, Sarah, I'll make you regret it." His teeth were clenched, she noticed with a hint of glee. Here was the response she was looking for.

"I'm not Yvetta. If you think you can look so indifferent while you're with me, you're severely mistaken."

"Do I seem fucking indifferent to you?" he snapped, thrusting up into her to gain some sort of relief.

She leaned down over him, making sure the tips of her breasts brushed against his perfectly chiseled chest. "Not anymore," she breathed into his mouth, nipping at his bottom lip before pulling away and rocking onto him with such a renewed vigor, he groaned.

_All for her_, she thought with delight.

She continued to fuck him until they were both panting messes, sweat all over her and dripping onto him. She knew he was close from the look on his face, so she did the last thing she wanted to do before he finished.

"Bite me," she whispered, a little tremulously. Biting during sex was intimate, but goddammit she wanted him to. Since that dream she'd had on his couch she'd wanted nothing but. She wanted him to be as satisfied and as thrilled with this as she was, and the only way she knew to ensure such a thing was to let him bite her. And she wanted him to so _so_ badly.

Another vampire would have probably asked if she was sure. Bill probably would when he first had Sookie. But Eric would never pass up the opportunity, she knew. He would take what she was giving without asking for clarification.

And by God he did.

They both came the minute his fangs penetrated her skin, both groaning in ecstasy and the feel of it. It had never been this good. Nothing had ever been this good. It was sheer heaven in a moment, and the moment seemed to last a lifetime. The pulling at her neck ensured that her orgasm lasted longer than the one before it, waves of pleasure and currents of electricity running all over her body. She felt wanted, she felt invincible, she felt hypnotized.

She couldn't remember feeling so content.

She couldn't remember feeling so…

_Alive._

* * *

**I didn't really look over this well because I wanted it out ASAP. You've waited a ridiculously long time, so I hope it was okay. The plot does come back in next chapter, I promise. But this needed to happen - Sarah had blue balls ;)**

**Hope everyone is okay and enjoyed this chapter! **


	23. Now There's Green Light In My Eyes

"_How is vampire sex any different from normal sex?" The question is innocent but the people in the room are anything but. Godric is the only one who doesn't laugh at my question; Isabel, Victoria and Stan cackle with glee. Stan's is malicious which annoys me. God, I hate him._

"_Oh darling," Isabel says as she laughs perfectly in my direction. She manages to make it sound less patronizing than anybody else would manage which mollifies me slightly. _

_Godric smiles at my naivety and explains, "Child, a vampire is much older and more experienced than a human. Furthermore, our supernatural abilities enable us to… perform at a…supernatural standard, I suppose."_

_Isabel and Victoria chuckle at his choice of words but I remain confused and obstinate. "I don't see how it can be so different. I enjoy sex now… like, _really_ enjoy sex now."_

_Stan throws me a leer and a wink that makes my skin crawl. "Want me to show you, baby? I'll make it real good for you." At this he pops his fangs out and his eyes travel down my body and linger at my breasts. I nearly throw up in my mouth; I _really_ hate him._

"_Stan," Godric snaps, displeased as ever by his boorish behavior.__"You enjoy sex with humans but with a vampire it is entirely different. Your senses are heightened because ours are. We take humans places they cannot imagine going. It is unfathomable to you."_

Unfathomable_. I snort at the concept – sex is great. With a vampire it's better. They think I don't understand this concept but I do. Sex is sex. It's nice and I like it. A vampire man does not possess anything that a human man does not. Their comments irk me because I feel young and inconsequential. I consider their comments though. If sex with a vampire is as good at they claim, I tell myself I must do it one day. A few months ago, I would have considered Godric as the only vampire I would want to be with but our relationship has moved past that point. We are friends. Extremely close friends. We make each other better. _

_But, I tell myself, I must experiment with a vampire one day. I want to see if they are right. _

_I scoff at myself. They wouldn't be. _

_As I said before, sex is sex._

_That's all._

* * *

She had never slept so thoroughly and so perfectly. Unconsciousness by orgasm was an entirely new concept to her. She couldn't even remember Eric pulling out of her. The last thing she recalled was Eric biting her and then...nothing. What a marvelous way to fall asleep.

_God, they had been right_, she thought silently as she took in her surroundings. She was still in Eric's room, tangled in the silk sheets. He was nowhere to be found but then she hadn't expected him to stay and cuddle. The thought almost made her laugh.

Last night had been…indescribable. She had never thought sex could be like that. Even calling it plain old 'sex' seemed too boring. Why on earth had she waited so long to succumb to her desires in regard to Eric? Sure, at first he annoyed her and she thought he was too arrogant and too cocky but as she'd grown to know and understand him she had realized that he was someone to admire. Someone to learn from. Someone she actually really liked.

Stretching out tentatively, for she knew she would feel sore and bruised, Sarah smiled to herself. Nothing could make her regret last night. She could only hope that he wouldn't discard her as a…what was she? A friend? A colleague? Either way, she only knew that she didn't want anything to change between them. Everything was perfectly fine as it was, and if last night now meant that they could add amazing sex to the equation then that was even better.

She winced when she stood up. He wasn't exactly, ahem, _average sized_ and was in _every_ way the powerful Viking everyone knew him to be. She knew she'd feel a load better after a hot bath and some aspirin but first she needed to grasp her bearings.

Exiting the room, she could immediately pinpoint exactly where Eric was. She could hear his louder-than-normal tones echo through the house and she instantly felt pity for whoever was incurring his wrath. At least she knew it was sometime after sunset as he would not likely be awake before.

She headed for the kitchen where she could hear him tearing someone apart (figuratively, that was) and hoped that whoever it was would be wise enough to not provoke him. She entered, clad in only a silk robe she had found by the door (blood red, of course), to find Eric standing with Jason and Sookie Stackhouse, his anger directed at the blonde woman while her brother stood helplessly at the side.

"You have no right to drag my brother into this, Eric!" Sookie shouted, her eyes wide and her face determined. Sarah silently questioned where Bill was; he must have been really secure in their relationship, uninterested in her well-being or, the most likely option, he didn't know she was there.

"I have every right! If he's taking V in my area, it is my business!" His voice wasn't overly raised, it was never raised, but he sounded pissed off. And not even in a hot, lustful way like when he snapped at Sarah. She idly wondered whether he would still be attracted to her now that the novelty of her had been satiated. She was no longer the only woman in the bar who he hadn't fucked. She hoped it wouldn't change their relationship, sexual tension and all, but now that tension had been relieved, would he start ignoring her? Not spending time with her? Would he give her away to some other vampire to protect? She immediately dismissed the thought – his beloved Maker had asked him to guard her and he would follow through with Godric's dying request to the end. Sarah didn't know how a lot of things would turn out after last night but she knew that for a fact.

Sarah cleared her throat lightly to make her presence known to Sookie. Eric already knew she was there, she guessed. He knew everything.

Sookie stopped whatever she was going to snap at Eric and looked over to the brunette stood quietly in the corner.

"Sarah," Sookie sighed, placing her hands on her hips, "I don't know what you're doing here or where the hell you've been these last few days but now isn't the time—" Her stressful sounding tones stopped suddenly as her eyes zeroed in on Sarah's neck.

"Oh my God," Sookie whispered judgmentally Then her eyes snapped straight back to Eric and gave him a look of such disgust it even made Sarah feel sorry for him. "You bit her?! Did you have sex with her?! I _cannot_ believe you would do that Eric, she is my friend—"

Sarah almost scoffed. Why was it so shocking to Sookie that they had sex? They were attracted to one another and that was that. Was that so hard to believe or understand? She knew Sookie was a 'good girl' – she believed that was one of the reasons why Eric was so drawn to her – but she slept with Bill on a daily basis. No, Eric wasn't her boyfriend but so what? This was the 21st century. And if Sookie really believe she could have a vampire for a boyfriend she was delusional. They were supernatural creatures and couldn't be held down by anyone.

So Sarah rolled her eyes and cut her off. "It takes two, Sookie. I wanted it, he wanted it. It's really not a big deal." She shrugged to emphasize her point – it really wasn't a big deal. She flickered her eyes over to Eric who was watching her with a blank expression on his face. Before she'd passed out, his expression had been anything but blank. She smirked saucily as she thought to herself how much of a _big_ deal it actually was.

Sookie only gave Sarah an exasperated look and continued ranting to Eric as though she'd never spoken. "All I know is that she's not been at the house in days and now she's here with you with bite marks on her neck? Eric, you've turned my housemate into a fangbanger!"

Sarah couldn't help but snort. A fangbanger – her? Really? Even Eric looked amused by that claim. It was obvious to the two of them that Sarah was the last person who would become a vampire groupie. She _worked_ with them for crying out loud. It just so happened that the latest person she'd been attracted to had been a vampire.

Before Sarah could retaliate and tell Sookie what a stupid idea that actually was, Eric spoke again only much calmer than before. "I called you here to help me with something. Your dear brother has been consuming V in my area." At this, Sarah noticed that the anger Sookie had been radiating towards Eric had now turned to Jason who looked both shocked that Eric had spilled the beans (for all he knew was that he'd been caught at a party since Pam had glamoured his memories away of the previous night) and also rightly ashamed. "Now, it is law that he must be punished for this crime but I, being a fair Sheriff, decided that your brother would owe me fealty instead. It is time to repay this fealty, which can only be done with your help."

Sarah blinked. What on earth did he have planned? How was Jason going to pay fealty and why did Sookie have to help? It wasn't her who owed Eric. Was this simply another ploy to get her in his bed? These questions raced through Sarah's mind as Sookie's anger only grew.

"V, Jason?! And what the hell do you mean you need my help?"

"Your brother found the substance in a package with a return address. I obviously plan to seek this address and the persons living there. I need you to read your brother's mind and tell me if there is anything else he knows about this package. We acquired some information last night but more is required and neither Sarah nor I have the time, patience or inclination to ask him the right questions to obtain such information."

"And why would I help you?"

Sarah almost shook her head. Eric was asking as politely as he ever would and all Sarah could think was 'why would you not?' It was her brother's debt and if she could help it be repaid by doing something that Eric had implied came easily to her, why would she not help them out? This was a serious accusation – her brother could be killed for this.

It seemed that Eric had a similar thought pattern as he simply raised an eyebrow and didn't dignify her question with an answer.

Eventually, Sookie – having presumably seen the logic in helping – turned to face her brother and held onto his head. Sarah was enraptured. Eric had told her that she was telepathic and Sarah had never felt such relief. Someone else had 'powers' too. She wasn't alone. But some tiny part of her, the cynical part, hadn't believed it. Yet it seemed that she was about to witness it first hand and that thought exhilarated her. She and the blonde didn't appear to see eye to eye but on this topic they were connected. They were both freaks. And that made Sarah feel comfort like she had never really felt since Godric had died.

The kitchen was silent. Jason looked troubled at the way Sookie stared at him with such intent but he made no move to remove her hands. He knew he had to let her do this and he had to help Eric as much as possible. He knew very well that his life was on the line.

After about a minute, Sookie let go and turned to Eric, looking confused. Her facial expression sent a sliver of worry down Sarah's back – why would she be confused? It was a simple matter. Wasn't it?

"There's not much. It was like a...watered down version of the scene. Just the basic stuff, y'know? Usually I can hear something else – other people, the wind, insects, birds – and smell things but with this it was just a simple scene: he saw a package on the floor, he picked it up, opened the contents and there was V. He stashed it in his pocket and did it at home later. He wrote back askin' for more and they got back to him quickly. That's…all he knows." Her voice was confused and pensive.

Frowning, Sarah looked over to Eric who stared at the kitchen floor in concentration. He didn't look particularly concerned but he didn't make any confident remarks or look happy at this revelation.

"What does that mean?" Sarah wondered out loud, making her way to the coffee machine on the counter. It looked like this night would require caffeine. Extensive amounts.

Sookie shrugged almost indifferently. "I have no idea. But now we're done, Jason and I are leavin'. Sarah, are you comin' back to the house anymore? Tara moved out to live with that monster when you moved in so if you're not comin' back then she can come live with me again." Sarah's frown burrowed at Sookie's tone; it was accusing and almost mean – two things Sarah did not associate with Sookie. Was the girl mad about sleeping with Eric? Mad about not being at the house?

Then it hit her – she _liked_ Eric. Whether she wanted to admit to it or not, Sookie liked Eric, or at least liked the attention he gave to her. She could recall with perfect clarity the look she had given Sarah when she'd come to Eric's office seeking help about Mary-Ann, right before Sarah had been taken. She had looked slightly annoyed at her presence and irritated that Sarah had made an effort with her appearance Had she been jealous? Sarah could understand – it must have been nice to have two vampires fighting over you. Sarah could admit that she would have enjoyed it too. If Sookie was a little jealous it would also explain her over-reaction to the bite marks on Sarah's neck.

_Or maybe she really does hate Eric and the thought of you being with him upsets her for _that_ reason, you self-obsessed drama queen_, a less dramatic part of Sarah thought. Maybe she was making it into a larger issue than it needed to be, but either way, Sarah would keep an eye out for the signs. She was sure Eric would be happy with this new-found piece of information.

Eric replied for her once again, giving Sarah an inch of relief because she hadn't been entirely sure what her response to that would have been. She reminded herself that Sookie was surely under a lot of pressure: Mary-Ann, whatever the hell that woman was, seemed to be terrorizing her hometown, her brother was caught up in V and the man she kinda liked was caught up in another woman. That couldn't have been easy, Sarah reasoned. "She won't be returning. She'll remain here."

Um, what?

Sarah didn't respond to that because she'd pretty much been living there anyway and didn't mind, really. It would make it easier for both her and Eric anyway as they could go to Fangtasia together without having to co-ordinate times.

_And maybe you'll get laid more._

She could live with Eric. Even if they weren't having sex, they got along relatively well. They'd both been loved, and loved in return, by the same person so clearly they had similarities. She enjoyed speaking with him and listening so carefully to the subtle advice he dished out – she knew perfectly well that it was probably one of the wisest things she'd ever do. Advice from a Viking would never go amiss. She enjoyed the banter they had between them, an endless rapport of witty remarks and comebacks that were occasionally teasing, occasionally flirty and occasionally intelligent but always entertaining. She enjoyed being around Pam and her sarcasm and her do-I-look-like-I-give-a-fuck attitude.

The realization hit her with an alarming speed: she'd found a new 'nest' that she loved being a part of just as much as she'd loved being with Godric and Isabel.

Eric and Pam would never replace them, not by a long shot, but they were new people who could be there for her and she could be there for them in return. Even if it was to help Eric with his own ambitions through the use of her 'gift'. Yet she wasn't naïve enough to believe they thought of her as a friend in return, much less as family. They were eternal beings that would walk the Earth for longer than Sarah's small mind could ever comprehend. She was temporary - a blip on the Earth that would leave no mark at all. She would not be remembered. She would turn to ashes eventually and nobody would remember her. She was nothing.

And that thought upset her more than Sookie's accusing tone and judgemental stares ever would. Nevertheless, that would not stop her from staying with them in Shreveport and attempting to help them. Eric had saved her life and she would stay to repay that debt as long as he wanted her there. She hoped that didn't make her pathetic. She wanted friends again, to be a part of a system, part of a unit, no matter how dysfunctional that system was.

"Fine," Sookie barked, grabbing Jason's arm and yanking him away. "Come get your stuff whenever. Eric, I still need that information about Mary-Ann; the whole town is going wild."

Eric didn't reply but Sookie didn't seem to care. She simply brushed past Sarah without a second look and dragged Jason out of the door.

Sarah released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her revelation had made not changed anything about the odd situation they'd found themselves in and it required all of her attention.

"Why would a memory be so blank?" Sarah pondered aloud as she sipped on her coffee. "Would he just have not paid attention to his surroundings? I don't know how it works…" _But God,_ she thought, _she wished she did._

Eric paced the kitchen slowly, his hands in his pockets, staring thoughtfully at the floor. "From what I understand, there would have been some sort of background senses. Your brain registers these things even if you do not."

Sarah nodded slowly, thinking how removed this conversation was to the one she'd imagined them having The Morning After. In fact, she'd sort of been hoping for a repeat performance. "So what does that mean? His memory's not all there?"

"Or it's not his memory."

Sarah frowned again, much deeper this time since the situation had become much more complex in these last few minutes. What did he mean by that? A memory not all there? Like… glamour?

"Glamour? You think he's been glamoured?" Her voice sounded skeptical even to her ears. She shrugged apologetically at him even though he didn't seem to be looking at her anyway.

"It would explain the odd memory recollection."

Sighing thoughtfully, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Why would a vampire change that scenario, though? It's V… Surely they wouldn't encourage such a thing? It's illegal. It's also illegal to glamour a human that's not consented."

Finally, Eric looked up to her. She was slightly miffed to see that it was because he was laughing at her.

"What?" She shot at him defensively. "Just because you don't abide by the law doesn't mean I don't or that it doesn't exist."

"Your optimism and belief in the law is refreshing." His grin was infectious and she found herself grinning back.

"It's my job," she replied. Her face fell when she remembered the situation they were stuck in. "Why would someone glamour Jason into forgetting how he acquired the V?"

"That I do not know," Eric said with a tone that unnerved her a little. She'd always told herself that he knew everything just like Godric seemed to. If this confused Eric, then it terrified her. "But I do know that we need to go to this address in New Orleans."

A thought she'd had the day before crept back into her mind. "What about the Queen? Isn't that her area of jurisdiction?"

He smirked and Sarah felt much better about the situation already. That smirk conveyed all the qualities she'd come to associate with Eric – mischievousness, wisdom and playfulness. He had the situation in hand.

"What the Queen doesn't know won't hurt her. And either way, you're coming with me. She doesn't know about you."

How he planned to enter New Orleans without alerting the Queen of his whereabouts was beyond her but she had faith in him. She assumed he had a plan. He always seemed to have a plan, always two steps in front of everyone else. _Once a warrior, always a warrior._

He paused before walking up to her so that he was right in front of her, his chest almost pressed to hers. Her body started to react immediately, her breath coming faster, her heart speeding up and, well, she grew instantly wet just at the memory of the previous night.

"You're my ace in the hole." His words were quiet and husky as though he, too, was affected by their proximity. His fingers brushed over the marks on her neck that she'd not even seen yet but had upset Sookie so much. "And as I've said before…you're all mine."

* * *

**Speedy, eh? I hope this is enough plot advancement for you all as last chapter moved the story alone about this much *holds up fingers a tiny amount***

**I really hope you're still enjoying the story. Let me know what you liked, didn't like, what you want to see more of, what you want to see less of… Let me know thoughts/opinions. I love hearing your views! **

**Thanks so much for reading!**


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